Painless Skin Swabs That Diagnose Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that affects the dopamine-producing nerve cells causing difficulty in walking and talking. Regular aerobics is known to reduce the disease’s effects by decreasing the inflammation in the brain that provokes the condition.

Parkinson’s disease does not have a definite cure. Therefore, it’s crucial to diagnose the disease before symptoms begin to exhibit themselves.

How Is Parkinson’s Disease Diagnosed?

Diagnosing Parkinson’s Disease is complicated as there are no definite tests, and it’s often too late when patients get diagnosed.

Parkinson’s doesn’t show up on blood work, scans, and other medical tests. They are clinically diagnosed by doctors based on symptoms and the medical history of the patient. People who don’t practice getting checked out regularly usually identify Parkinson’s in its later stages. 

The common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:

1. Trembling hands, arms, legs, jaw, or head
2. Stiff body
3. Slowness of movement
4. Impaired balance and coordination causing the patient to fall frequently

People above the age of 50, especially men, succumb to this disease, while humid climates and dehydration worsen the condition. 

Though there is not much difference in a normal individual’s lifespan and a patient affected with Parkinson’s disease, the frequent falling down can become fatal, and treatment is essential for leading a smooth life while battling with the disease.

What Does A Painless Skin Swabs Mean?

As we have understood that Parkinson’s is caused by fluctuation in dopamine secretion and can be diagnosed by a doctor clinically only after symptoms begin to exhibit, scientists have come up with a painless skin swabs method to diagnose it earlier with an 85% success rate.

It is a known fact that the traces of secretions of the brain can be found on our gut, tears, and sweat glands. Using the same knowledge, scientists from the University of Manchester have invented this painless skin swabs method.

When it comes to diagnosing a disease, a patient’s privacy is also invaded. This is different when it comes to this painless skin swab method. Sebum samples from the upper back of 500 participants, both with and without Parkinson’s, were collected.

The biomarkers in the sample collected from and tested using wide spectrometry revealed that the individuals affected with Parkinson’s had heightened or lowered secretions of 10 chemicals.

Scientists have also found out that there were alterations in these levels as the disease progressed and considered this discovery as a breakthrough in the diagnosis of the disease.

The University of Manchester is undertaking further research to improve the accuracy of the diagnoses and measures to include this cost-efficient test in the NHS (National Health Service).