Woman who can smell Parkinson's helps researchers create swab test

A Scottish woman who found she could detect Parkinson's through smell has inspired scientists to develop a swab test that could be used to diagnose it.

Researchers in Manchester have created a new method which they say can detect the disease in three minutes.

Further study will be required to validate the findings before they can develop a diagnostic test that could be used in clinics or by GPs.

Their work was inspired by Joy Milne, a retired nurse from Perth.

Joy, 72, knew her husband Les had Parkinson's years before he was diagnosed when she identified a change in the way he smelled.

Now a team in the University of Manchester, working with Joy, has developed a simple skin-swab test which they claim is 95% accurate under laboratory conditions when it comes to telling whether people have Parkinson's.