Dr Karl shares the story of Joy Milne who can tell if someone has Parkinson’s disease through smell

The women who can SMELL if someone has Parkinson’s: Dr. Karl explains how some people can sniff out the disease before being diagnosed

  • Joy Milne can smell if someone has Parkinson’s
  • She found out her husband had the disease before his diagnosis
  • Dr Karl shared her story to astounding thousands

People have shared their surprise after learning that some people can “smell” Parkinson’s disease before an official diagnosis is made.

Joy Milne is one of the few people in the world with the unique gift and has greatly helped scientists to better understand the disease.

In an online videoAustralian scientist Dr Karl explained that Joy was given T-shirts worn by different people, some with and some without Parkinson’s, and told which was which.

“The people without, she picked them out carefully, except for one person, but that person was unfortunately diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight months later,” he said.

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Dr. Karl shocked fans after sharing the story of a woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease in people before they are diagnosed

Joy Milne (pictured) is one of the few people in the world with the unique gift and has helped scientists immensely as she can tell by their t-shirts if someone has the disease

Joy Milne (pictured) is one of the few people in the world with the unique gift and has helped scientists immensely as she can tell by their t-shirts if someone has the disease

Joy, a grandmother from Perth, Scotland, discovered she had the sixth sense when her husband’s scent changed one day.

“She liked her husband’s scent and he had a lot of good qualities, so of course they got married,” Dr Karl explained.

“After a few decades, one day she suddenly noticed that he started to smell bad and (12) years later he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.”

Joy went to a Parkinson’s support group with her husband and noticed that everyone else in the group had the same smell.

The incredible story of Joy Milne 👃 with Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki #GreatMomentsInScience #ParkinsonsDisease #Smell

Posted by ABC science on Wednesday, April 26, 2023

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s is a movement and mood disorder that typically presents with symptoms such as slowness of movement, muscle stiffness, instability, tremor, depression, and anxiety.

The number of people with Parkinson’s in Australia may range from 84,000 to 212,000 (0.85% of the population)*.

A diagnosis can occur at any age, with the most common age of diagnosis being 65 years old.

There is no known cause for the development of Parkinson’s, but it is thought that a combination of the following may play a role:

  • Aging
  • Genetics
  • Infections
  • Environmental factors
  • Pesticides and toxins
  • Medications/Medicines

There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but there are effective treatment and therapy options that can help manage symptoms so that people with Parkinson’s disease can enjoy independent and productive lives for many years to come.

Source: Parkinson’s NSW

Since then, she has helped doctors and scientists achieve breakthroughs in their research into Parkinson’s disease.

Her nose can detect Parkinson’s telltale odor, which comes most strongly from people’s necks and between their shoulder blades.

It found that sebum – an oily substance secreted by pores in the skin – contained ten compounds linked to Parkinson’s.

Viewers were amazed by Joy’s incredible story and gift.

“It’s crazy how she was 100 percent accurate and found it even earlier than the current best tests we have,” one of them said.

In an online video, Dr. Karl explained that Joy was given t-shirts worn by different people, some with and some without Parkinson's, and she could see who was affected and who was not.

In an online video, Dr. Karl explained that Joy was given t-shirts worn by different people, some with and some without Parkinson’s, and she could see who was affected and who was not.

“I’m so glad she talked about it, and more importantly, someone listened!” added a second.

‘How spectacular. What a gift,’ replied a third.

Joy’s talent may not be as rare as most think, as some said they can also smell certain diseases and conditions.

‘I smell cancer. I knew my girlfriend had it before she knew,” said one woman.

‘I smell Parkinson’s. I work in a care home so obviously the people we care for have already been diagnosed and are pretty advanced, but yeah, it smells obvious,” claimed another.

“I could always tell by the smell of their breath when my kids were going to go bad,” one mother noted.

“I noticed my husband smelled different before he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Lewy Body is on the Parkinson’s side of dementia,” explains a fourth.