Adapted from a report by Casey Taylor, WCTV - Tallahassee
Florida (news@wctv.tv)
Many are Misdiagnosed with Parkinson's Dsease
Feb 6, 2009 - The key to helping people with Parkinson's?
Find out who has it before symptoms show. With traditional tests,
that's hard to do.
Cornell neurologist Flint Beal says ten-percent of patients
are misdiagnosed. That's why he created a more definitive
blood test.
"It relies on measuring a large number of chemicals in
the blood," said Dr. Flint Beal.
Comparing blood samples of 66 Parkinson's patients against
healthy blood samples, different compounds emerged that were
specific to Parkinson's patients.
Margie Chamberlain is hoping a smell test will put her mind to
rest. Doctors at the Medical College of Georgia are using the
test to help diagnose the disease early.
"There's dill pickle, bubble gum…"
People with a normal sense of smell can identify 35 out of 40
smells. People with Parkinson's can identify less than
20.
From the sense of smell to sight, researchers overseas are
testing eye drops made of cocaine to diagnose Parkinson's.
When 38 patients were given a five percent cocaine solution,
their eyes dilated less than those without the disease, proving
the Parkinson's patients had lost nerve function in their
eyes.
Although for many it's too late to stop the progression,
researchers hope what they're doing now, will spare others
the pain of Parkinson's in the future.
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