While it seems like it would require her or another person who can identify the scent to be involved, what this really indicates is that Parkinson’s creates a chemical change to the body, in particular to the gases emitted from the pores, that gives early indication of the onset of the disease.
What they need to do is identify this chemical change and then they can test it in a routine way for people who might be at risk of Parkinson’s disease.
If the chemical signature can be adequately quantified, then machines can be created that detect it.
What Causes Parkinson’s Disease?
A Shortage of Dopamine
Parkinson’s disease occurs when nerve cells, or neurons, in an area of the brain that controls movement become impaired and/or die. Normally, these neurons produce an important brain chemical known as dopamine, but when the neurons die or become impaired, they produce less dopamine. This shortage of dopamine causes the movement problems of people with Parkinson’s.
Dopamine is a chemical messenger, or neurotransmitter. Dopamine is responsible for transmitting signals between the substantia nigra and multiple brain regions. The connection between the substantia nigra and the corpus striatum is critical to produce smooth, purposeful movement. Loss of dopamine in this circuit results in abnormal nerve-firing patterns within the brain that cause impaired movement.
Loss of Norepinephrine
People with Parkinson’s also have loss of the nerve endings that produce the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. Norepinephrine, which is closely related to dopamine, is the main chemical messenger of the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system controls many automatic functions of the body, such as heart rate and blood pressure. The loss of norepinephrine might help explain several of the non-movement features of Parkinson’s, such as fatigue, irregular blood pressure, decreased gastric motility or movement of food through the digestive tract, and postural hypotension. Postural hypotension is a sudden drop in blood pressure when a person stands up from a sitting or lying-down position. It may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and in some cases, loss of balance or fainting.
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/parkinsonsdisease/whatcausesparkinsonsdisease/01.html
My bet is that it’s all leading back to sweat pores and the manufacture of sweat being in a state of change.
There have been some studies suggesting that Heliobacter pylori, the bacteria that cause ulcers, may play a role in Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s patients seem to suffer from high rates of constipation, before developing the other neurological symptoms.
I wonder if the musty odor would show up in people affected by H pylori, or is it something that only shows up after the brain begins to be affected.
Excellent point!