By Julie McIntire Corey, reporter
Parkinson’s Alert Dogs, a local non-profit, has recently released astonishing research. In 2016, PADs became the only program of its kind, training dogs to detect Parkinson’s Disease. In June 2023 the non-profit was rehomed to the the National Veterinary Research Institute of France in Maison-Alfort, France.
The Parkinson’s Foundation website reports that worldwide, ten million people have PD. This is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. According to the National Institute of Health, Parkinson’s Disease was first mentioned in 1817 when an English physician, James Parkinson, published the first comprehensive medical description of the disease, known as “shaky palsy,” a neurological syndrome. He presented six clinical cases. It describes three key symptoms. The six cases shared: tremors, instability, and paralysis. Dr. Parkinson speculated that the disease was caused by trauma to the spinal cord. It was not until 1877 that a Frenchman, Jean-Matin Charcot, was regarded as the father of neurology. He began expanding the definition of Parkinson’s Disease. With this new science, Meisure Charcot officially changed the name from Shaky Palsy to Parkinson’s Disease in honor of Dr. Parkinson’s early research. As a neurodegenerative disease, it progresses gradually, causing uncontrollable movements including shaking and stiffness. It also affects balance and coordination. As it progresses, people experience trouble walking and talking. This puzzling disease can cause long-suffering mental and behavioral changes affecting sleep, memory, depression, and fatigue.
This disease does not discriminate. Celebrities have shared their PD diagnosis with the public, from Salvador Dali to Mohammad Ali, Alan Alda, Jesse Jackson, Linda Ronstadt, and Neil Diamond. In 1999, the iconic American actor Michael J. Fox, then only 29 years old, was diagnosed with PD. His family launched the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research in 2002; The New York Times reported, “The Foundation has galvanized the search for a cure and is a commanding voice in scientific philanthropy.” Mr. Fox has used his voice around the world to educate and raise funding for research that has made a significant difference in the treatment and cure for Parkinson’s Disease.
According to the MJFF, a new study shows a higher incidence of Parkinson’s in certain places in the United States. The key findings show that the incidence of Parkinson’s is higher in specific geographic regions: the “Rust Belt,” Southern California, Southeastern Texas, Central Pennsylvania, and Florida. (The “Rust Belt” consists of parts of the northeastern and midwestern U.S. with a history of heavy industrial manufacturing.) In addition, people diagnosed with Parkinson’s tend to be older, with the incidence rate increasing in individuals over age 65. And more men are getting diagnosed when compared to women of all ages.
In 2015, researchers reported and verified that a former nurse in Scotland could smell an odor on humans unique to Parkinson’s Disease. Since humans can detect such an odor, it’s no surprise that dogs can easily do the same. This led to the beginning of PADs research and their mission to “Train dogs to detect Parkinson’s Disease, supply reproducible training protocol for other trainers, and support research on Parkinson’s Disease.” This local grassroots organization has developed a program that teaches people how to train dogs to smell the unique odor emitted by humans with PD. The dogs are 90% accurate. This was a breakthrough discovery.
PADs utilized over fifty volunteers, hundreds of sample donors, and thirty-five outstanding dictated canine /handlers teams since. They have fulfilled their mission to establish reproducible training protocols and assisted research scientists in the quest for the cause and cure of Parkinson’s disease. It was time for PADs to publish the findings. All of the years of carefully collected Cannie detection on the research program they started. PADs reported in June of 2023 to the Journal, “The program will move to its new home at Nosais, a nonprofit research department within the National Veterinary School (NEVA) of Maison-Alfort, France. Established in 1775 and encompassing 11 acres, NEVA is the French public research institute of scientific research and higher education for veterinary medicine with 1000 aspiring veterinary students, a teaching staff of 400 veterinary science specialists, and eight research laboratories. Here, PADs will finally have the needed room to stretch, run, and expand to their full potential. Regarding PADs, Professor Grandjean had this to say: The Nosaïs team of the National Veterinary School of Alfort is honored and excited to continue building upon the ground-breaking detection research already established by PADs. We will continue the work and put forth all our efforts into providing the new possibility of early detection of Parkinson’s Disease through canine olfactory detection, thanks to the marvelous pioneering work done by PADs.”
Lisa Holt, Director of Canine Detection, added that “at this time, we wish to gratefully acknowledge the tremendous effort and giving spirit of the many hands and hearts of the San Juan Island Community Foundation, the numerous Island volunteers, and the many individuals who have supported and helped to raise PADs to a level of international interest and acceptance. Additionally, as we turn the page to the next chapter, we extend our very deep gratitude to the PADs’ sample donors and supporters who are battling Parkinson’s Disease. You remain the inspiration for the work we do. And the work to come.”
After months of accumulating their data, Holt and Samual V. Johnston have recently published a peer-reviewed research paper that can be read at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-024-01902-5.
For more information about Pariksons, visit Padsforparkinsons.org or the Michael J. Fox Foundation at https://www.michaeljfox.org.
