The Smell of Your Belly Button May Carry Signs of Parkinson's And Cognitive Decline
Researchers found navel swabs from 24 participants produced chemical fingerprints that separated Parkinson's disease, mild cognitive impairment, COVID-19 and healthy groups.
- Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany found that chemical profiles swabbed from the belly button could distinguish between healthy people and those with Parkinson, mild cognitive impairment, or COVID-19.
- Joy Milne, a Scottish nurse, famously discovered she could smell Parkinson on her husband years before his diagnosis, prompting Scientist Tilo Kunath to investigate whether bodily odors could serve as diagnostic markers.
- The team swabbed 24 participants in the nose, ear, and belly button for about 10 seconds using laser-based photoacoustic spectroscopy to identify spectral fingerprints that varied between the four groups.
- Results published in Scientific Reports showed nasal and belly button samples produced the clearest differences, though Parkinson and COVID-19 samples showed more overlap than healthy or mild cognitive impairment groups.
- With only 24 participants, researchers note this is preliminary; larger studies must address how age influences these chemical profiles and whether disease-associated patterns persist independently of aging.
14 Articles
14 Articles
A swab of only 10 seconds from the abdominal belly button may carry a chemical signature associated with Parkinson's disease and cognitive impairment, according to a German study that opens a new door to non-surgery screening methods.
Your Belly Button Could Hold a Surprising Clue to Parkinson’s Disease
Twelve years before her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Joy Milne noticed that he smelled different. She couldn’t explain it at the time. The smell was musky, and she assumed it was probably sweat. Years later, at a Parkinson’s support group, she walked into a room full of people with the disease and smelled […]
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in the navel, nose and ears could detect various medical problems, according to German researchers.
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