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Skin swabs may help detect Parkinson's years before symptoms appear

Skin swabs may help detect Parkinson's years before symptoms appear

There is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease, nor are there specific tests for early diagnosis. A new study has identified a way to detect the condition before symptoms appear through the use of skin swabs via sebum and smell. The swabs could offer a noninvasive way to help diagnose Parkinson's disease in people who have not yet developed symptoms. According to the Parkinson's Foundation, more than 10 million people around the world are living with Parkinson's disease — a neurological disease that negatively impacts a person's movement and speech abilities.There is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease. Although right now there are no specific tests to help diagnose the condition, identifying warning signs of Parkinson's disease as early as possible is critical in helping to slow disease progression. 'Current clinical diagnosis is too late as disease has progressed a lot,' Drupad K. Trivedi, PhD, lecturer in analytical and measurement science at the University of Manchester, told Medical News Today. Trivedi is the corresponding author of a new study recently published in the journal npj Parkinson's Disease that has identified a way to detect the condition before symptoms appear through the use of skin swabs. 'Smelling' signs of Parkinson's diseaseFor this study, scientists focused on testing study participants by using skin swabs of their sebum — an oily substance naturally produced by the skin's sebaceous glands.Through the skin swabs, Trivedi said they were able to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the sebum. Different VOCs have a distinct smell, which is what helps make each person's body odor unique. 'We have found a few compounds that are expressed differently in people with Parkinson's disease compared to healthy controls as well as those who had REM sleep behavior disorder. A test that is a simple skin swab can potentially be the first test to detect Parkinson's before all the clinical signs start appearing.' — Drupad K. Trivedi, PhDThis study is an extension of two previous studies conducted by Trivedi and his team. The first study in March 2019 identified the presence of VOC biomarkers in the sebum of people with Parkinson's disease that also has a distinct smell. A second study in February 2021 that found a differential VOC profile between participants with Parkinson's disease and controls when analyzing their sebum. All of this research was reportedly inspired by Joy Milne, a research associate at the University of Manchester, who has a condition called hyperosmia, giving her an extremely strong sense of smell. In 2015, it was reported that Milne was able to 'smell' Parkinson's disease on her husband about six years before he received his diagnosis.The concept of 'smelling' Parkinson's disease was further validated in a study recently published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease — for which Trivedi was also part of the research team — that found trained dogs could detect an odor on skin swabs to detect Parkinson's disease. Sebum compound levels may indicate Parkinson's diseaseResearchers recruited 83 study participants. Of this number, 46 had a Parkinson's disease diagnosis, 28 were healthy controls, and nine had isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (iRBD), which is considered to be an early warning sign of Parkinson's disease. Upon analysis, Trivedi and his team found that 55 significant features in the sebum that varied between the groups, and those with iRBD had levels in between those with Parkinson's disease and the healthy controls.'There were 55 features that showed levels for iRBD between healthy and Parkinson's disease,' Trivedi detailed. 'iRBD is one of the prodromal symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This means a good proportion of individuals suffering from iRBD may develop Parkinson's disease in the next decade or more. The intermediate level indicates a progression from control to iRDB to Parkinson's disease.' 'By early detection, we will be able to triage and offer advanced clinical tests, specialist support for confirmatory diagnosis without relying on physical symptoms to appear,' he continued. 'It also creates a potential to develop disease-modifying therapies in the future.' 'Next steps are to quantify these observed compounds in Parkinson's disease and iRBD, and also validate these findings in a long-term prospective study of [a] bigger iRBD cohort,' Trivedi added. Sebum VOCs may also help map Parkinson's progressionAdditionally, Trivedi collected sebum samples from people with Parkinson's disease over a three-year period. From these samples, he was able to find sebum compound patterns that suggest this method may also be used to map disease progression. 'This indicates that molecules we see on (the) skin surface may indicate progression of Parkinson's disease — it is a progressive disease with no cure,' he explained. 'A sudden, rapid progression could be monitored in future using such markers on [the] skin surface. There is also a potential to monitor [the] efficacy of treatment by such an approach.'Possible noninvasive tool for diagnosing presymptomatic Parkinson'sMNT also spoke with Rocco DiPaola, MD, a neurologist and movement disorder specialist at Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study. DiPaola commented that this study's results would offer a noninvasive tool for potentially diagnosing presymptomatic Parkinson's disease. 'While there are currently no treatments that prevent or slow the progression of disease, as these treatments become available, it will be important to identify those at risk prior to symptom onset,' he continued. 'Further studies on a larger scale to further determine validity of results as well as a means to have this available as a standardized test. Although not specific to this study, it would be important to continue to find ways to diagnose Parkinson's disease prior to symptom onset.'
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Hospital worker arrested over assault of patient in Northampton
Hospital worker arrested over assault of patient in Northampton

BBC News

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  • BBC News

Hospital worker arrested over assault of patient in Northampton

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Resident doctors' strike undermines union movement, Wes Streeting says
Resident doctors' strike undermines union movement, Wes Streeting says

The Guardian

time44 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Resident doctors' strike undermines union movement, Wes Streeting says

A strike by resident doctors 'enormously undermines the entire trade union movement', Wes Streeting has argued, urging them not to join industrial action on Friday morning. In an article for the Guardian, the health secretary says the decision by the British Medical Association (BMA) to push for new strikes in England immediately after receiving a pay rise of 22% to cover 2023-24 and 2024-25 is unreasonable and unprecedented. Taking aim squarely at the leadership of the BMA, which represents the medics formerly known as junior doctors, Streeting condemns their demand for a fresh 29% rise over the next few years. He says that while there was 90% backing for the strike, it was on a turnout of just over 55% of members. Streeting says the move to strike after the offer of a 5.4% pay rise for 2025-26, was rushed into and is 'bitterly disappointing' amid efforts to improve NHS services. 'There was a deal here to be done,' he writes. 'Instead, the BMA leadership's decision to not even consider postponing these strikes will place an enormous burden on their colleagues, and hit the recovery we can all see our health service is making. 'Not only that, it enormously undermines the entire trade union movement. No trade union in British history has seen its members receive a such a steep pay rise only to immediately respond with strikes – even when a majority of their members didn't even vote to strike. This action is unprecedented, and it is unreasonable.' The BMA argues that resident doctors have seen their pay fall by a much greater amount in real terms since 2008-09 than the rest of the population. 'Doctors are not worth less than they were 17 years ago, when austerity policies began driving wages down. We're simply asking for that value to be restored,' it said. Streeting says resident doctors have privately contacted him to express their dismay at the decision to strike, saying they 'feel the BMA's leaders are out of lockstep with not just patients but most resident doctors themselves'. The health secretary urges doctors to defy their union and not join in the strike, which runs until 7am next Wednesday. 'I am urging resident doctors to not follow the BMA leadership, who I do not believe are representing the best interests of their members, any further down this path as strikes begin on Friday at 7am,' he writes. The public have been urged to keep coming forward for NHS care during the strike, and NHS England has urged hospital chief executives to keep routine operations and appointments and only reschedule if there is a risk to patient safety. A Department of Health and Social Care blog noted that the NHS was 'taking a different approach' after learning lessons from previous strikes, and would avoid cancelling planned appointments for illnesses such as cancer because this posed 'a risk to patients too'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion On Wednesday, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges urged the BMA to suspend its guidance to resident doctors that they do not have to share their intentions to strike with their employers – as is their entitlement under employment law – to enable hospitals to better plan. It is understood that in previous strikes, healthcare leaders filled rota gaps of unknown size by overstaffing and cancelling procedures, with the result that there was insufficient work for some highly paid consultants. Fewer resident doctors are expected to go on strike on Friday than in the previous round of industrial action that started in 2023 after the BMA achieved a smaller mandate in the strike ballot. Of 48,000 members, 55% voted, of whom 90% supported industrial action – representing less than half of members – compared with a turnout of 71.25% in 2023, of whom 43,440 (or 98.37%) voted to go on strike. The numbers of striking doctors is expected to vary between hospitals and trusts, with anticipated staff rota gaps filled locally by consultants, agency doctors and other NHS staff. Hospital leaders will monitor demand and if they are overwhelmed with patients they will have contingency plans in place, for example cancelling some appointments to prioritise urgent and emergency care, calling in extra bank or agency staff, or requesting derogations – where resident doctors are called in to work – with the BMA. The Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported that the NHS England chief, Sir Jim Mackey, had told trust leaders to crack down on resident doctors' ability to earn money during the strike by working locum shifts.

This unnecessary doctors' strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don't do it
This unnecessary doctors' strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don't do it

The Guardian

time44 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

This unnecessary doctors' strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don't do it

Over the past 15 years, NHS staff have had a torrid time: they have been overstretched, buffeted by constant chaos and a chronic lack of investment. This government inherited a situation in which too many staff were burnt out, demoralised and simply done in. It's why one of my first acts as health and social care secretary was to get round the table, end the last resident doctor strikes and provide above inflation pay rises for all NHS staff, including a 22.3% rise for resident doctors (plus another 5.4% this year) – the biggest pay hike across the whole public sector. Since then, I've worked closely with NHS staff to deliver record investment and much-needed reforms to the NHS. From getting waiting lists down to hiring 2,000 more GPs, from bringing in new tech and equipment to making staff's lives easier, to starting the shift from sickness to prevention – we are making real progress. When the prime minister launched our 10-year health plan earlier this month, NHS staff celebrated it. I knew from the hundreds of staff that were part of our engagement process – from doctors to nurses, health visitors to consultants, porters to midwives – that they were hungry for change. But their optimism, energy and ambition showed just how much we will be able to achieve if we work together, and the exciting future we can build. That is why the decision by the British Medical Association's resident doctors committee to rush into completely unnecessary strikes is so bitterly disappointing. Not only have we started turning the NHS around, we did it hand-in-hand. The government proposed a range of measures to massively improve the working conditions doctors face – from tackling the costs of mandatory exams, to dealing with exhausting rotations that involve doctors pinging from hospital to hospital, to tackling bottlenecks by bringing in more specialist training places. There was a deal here to be done. Instead, the BMA leadership's decision to not even consider postponing these strikes will place an enormous burden on their colleagues, and hit the recovery we can all see our health service is making. Not only that, it enormously undermines the entire trade union movement. No trade union in British history has seen its members receive such a steep pay rise only to immediately respond with strikes – even when a majority of their members didn't even vote to strike. This action is unprecedented, and it is unreasonable. My focus now is on doing everything to minimise harm to patients. This government is doing all it can to minimise the impact on patients from this strike, including trying to keep as much scheduled care as we can on track, as well as urgent and emergency care. The BMA leadership would rather we just cancel those appointments because they don't recognise that someone with cancer, for example, who has a scheduled operation could end up in a far worse place if surgery is postponed. It is not for them to determine whether they think the bar for patient pain is high enough. This government will prioritise patients and do everything we can to protect them. All the same, these actions won't just cause disruption, anxiety and patient harm. They are likely to cost a huge amount of money, which the NHS simply can't afford. Instead of working with us on their conditions to put money back into the pockets of resident doctors, the BMA committee put their fingers in their ears and rushed out to strike. I know from the many resident doctors who have reached out to me, and those I've met since I became health and social care secretary, that they feel the BMA's leaders are out of step not just with patients, but most resident doctors themselves. It is hardly surprising a majority of resident doctors did not vote for this strike. So I am urging resident doctors to not follow the BMA leadership, who I do not believe are representing the best interests of their members, any further down this path as strikes begin on Friday at 7am. Wes Streeting is secretary of state for health and social care

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