Breath test detects early Parkinson’s

A PARKINSON’S breath test has been developed that is almost as effective as brain scans in detecting the disease. The device is the work of Israeli scientists and can find the early stages of the brain condition with more than 80 per cent accuracy.

It offers hope of screening patients during routine visits to the GP – and prescribing drugs when they are more likely to work. Dr Beckie Port, the research manager at Parkinson’s UK, said: “While more research is needed, the results of this small-scale study show the exciting potential of using chemicals in our breath as a simple and effective test to detect Parkinson’s earlier.”

Tests were conducted using a breath analyser fitted with an array of sensors that can detect chemicals in breath that was developed by the Technion-israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.

The researchers tested the device on the breath of 29 newly-diagnosed patients who had not yet begun taking medication for their illness. They found the device detected early Parkinson’s with 81 per cent accuracy – almost as good as a scan.

The results were published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.