Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Could your ear wax tell you if You have Parkinson’s disease?
A few 90,000 people are diagnosed with the degenerative neurological condition in the United States each year, and Annual deaths have increased In recent decades in tens of thousands.
Now, researchers from the American Chemical Society claim to have developed a new system that could help catch the disease at an early stage.
The identifier is in the smell of the main ingredient of ear wax, known as sebum. The oily substance is produced by the body to lubricate and protect the skin. The sebum of people with Parkinson can have a characteristic and musk odor because the volatile organic compounds released by sebum are modified by the progression of the disease. This association was identified in previous research.
To identify the compounds released by sebum in people with the disease, the researchers escaped the 209 participants’ ear canals, more than half of which were diagnosed with the condition. Then, they analyzed what was collected using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques.
Four of the volatile organic compounds they found in people with Parkinson were different from those without her. These include ethylbenzene, 4-ethyltolène, Pentanal and 2-Pentadecyl-1,3-Dioxolane. The researchers said they were Potential biomarkers for parkinson.
Use of these results, published this week in the journal Analytical chemistryThey were able to develop a system that exceeds at low cost for Parkinson.
They have formed an olfactory system of artificial intelligence – a robotic model that can imitate the way we feel – with their data of ear wax. Using the model, they found that he was able to classify the samples with and without parkinson with 94%precision.
Some 1.1 million Americans live with Parkinson at the moment. Because most Treatments for Parkinson Draw only the progression of the disease, catching it early is critical. Current tests are also expensive and can be subjective.
This AI system, according to researchers, could be used as first -line screening tool for early detection.
“This method is a small -scale monocentric experience in China”, ” explain The author Hao Dong. “The next step is to carry out additional research at different stages of the disease, in several research centers and between several ethnic groups, in order to determine whether this method has greater practical application value.”
