One million people in the United States suffer from Parkinson's disease. Another 50,000 are diagnosed every year and with no cure, the numbers are increasing. While we most commonly associate the disease with symptoms like tremors and impaired balance, other non-motor symptoms could provide a crucial early warning and one of them is right under your nose.

Margie Chamberlain's last birthday was more than a milestone. It was a painful reminder.

"I'm 51 and when my mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's, she was 50 or 51," she said. "Nobody should have to go through what my mother went through and I just hope that I can do something to make a difference."

A new study could be a step in that direction. Researchers want to know if a smell test can identify healthy people who are at risk of developing Parkinson's.

People with a normal sense of smell can identify around 35 of these 40 smells correctly. People with Parkinson's -- 20 or less.

"The difficulty with identifying odors or smells is a very early manifestation," said Kapil D. Sethi, M.D., a neurologist at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. "It actually may occur years before they develop Parkinson's disease and only now are we are appreciating the motor features are just the tip of the iceberg."

Dr. Sethi says by the time patients start showing symptoms like tremors, they've already lost more than half the brain cells that are key to motor control.

"I hope and pray I don't have Parkinson's disease," Chamberlain said.

By studying brain scans, smell tests and other early indicators, researchers want to find a way to stop Parkinson's before it starts.

"When we develop drugs or cocktails -- combinations of drugs that slow down Parkinson's -- then we could intervene before they get Parkinson's, so maybe delay it by three or four years," Dr. Sethi explained. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? It would have a huge public health impact."

For Chamberlain, joining the Parkinson's study is a way to honor her mom.

The University of Pennsylvania and institute for neurodegenerative disorders are leading the Parkinson's study, which is recruiting 15,000 people at 17 sites around the United States. Participants must be over 50 and have a mother, father, child or sibling with Parkinson's.

If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact:

(877) 401-4300
(888) 401-4300
parsinfo@indd.org
http://www.parsinfosource.com