DOCTOR’S NOTE

A feature of Parkinson’s is an oily skin due to the overproduction of sebum (skin oil). Could this sebum hold a tell-tale sign of Parkinson’s and become a diagnostic test even before the disease emerges?

Researchers discovered the link with sebum after a retired nurse told doctors she’d noticed a “musky” smell on her husband some 14 years before his Parkinson’s was diagnosed.

Now Manchester University researchers have examined the chemicals to produce a test which is 85% accurate.

The research is supported by the Michael J Fox Foundation, which was set up by the Hollywood actor, pictured above, in 2000 after he was diagnosed with the condition in 1991 aged 29.