A woman who smelled her husband's Parkinson's disease more than a decade before doctors could diagnose it is now at the center of groundbreaking medical research that may change how the condition is detected forever.

The Woman Who Smelled Parkinson’s Before Science Could

Joy Milne, a retired nurse from Scotland, has an incredibly rare ability—she can detect Parkinson’s disease through smell. Her story began decades ago, long before anyone realized the power of her nose.

Joy had been with her husband, Les Milne, since they were teenagers. But in 1982, just before Les turned 32, she began noticing something unusual. “I noticed a musky, dank odour on him – he knew about my heightened sense of smell,” she told The Guardian. “I thought it might be the unprocessed air of the operating theatres he worked in and told him to shower more. That caused arguments.”

At the time, no one—including doctors—suspected that Les had Parkinson’s disease. He wouldn’t be officially diagnosed until 12 years later.

A Familiar Smell Sparks a Medical Quest

After Les's diagnosis, the couple began attending Parkinson’s support groups. That’s when it hit Joy: other patients had the same scent she’d noticed on her husband all those years ago.

That realization changed everything. “Les and I should have been enjoying retirement, but Parkinson’s had stolen our lives,” Joy recalled. “We became determined that others wouldn’t suffer the same way. When Les died in June 2015, he made me promise I’d carry on.”

True to her word, Joy began working closely with scientists to unlock the medical mystery behind her gift. She spent countless hours in research labs, smelling T-shirts and swabs from people with and without Parkinson’s—helping researchers detect the subtle chemical changes in sebum, the oily substance our skin naturally produces.

A Breakthrough Years in the Making

Thanks to Joy’s extraordinary sense of smell, researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK have developed a skin swab test that could revolutionize how Parkinson’s is diagnosed. In controlled lab conditions, the test has shown up to 95% accuracy.

To create the test, scientists studied sebum samples from both healthy individuals and those with Parkinson’s. They discovered thousands of unique compounds, including over 500 that differed significantly between the two groups.

Professor Perdita Barran, who led the study, explained: “At the moment we have developed it in a research lab and we are now working with colleagues in hospital analytical labs to transfer our test to them so that it can work within an NHS environment. We are hoping within two years to be able to start to test people in the Manchester area.”

A Promise That Could Help Millions

Joy believes that if her husband’s condition had been diagnosed earlier, their lives could have been drastically different. “We would have spent more time with family. We would have travelled more. If we had known earlier it might have explained the mood swings and depression,” she said.

Instead of simply mourning what was lost, Joy transformed her grief into a mission to prevent others from going through the same experience. Her rare ability, once a puzzling burden, is now opening new doors in the fight against one of the most debilitating neurological conditions.

Why This Matters

Parkinson’s disease currently has no definitive diagnostic test. Doctors must rely on symptom tracking, patient history, and neurological exams—often after the disease has already progressed. That makes early intervention difficult.

With Joy’s help, science may soon have a reliable, non-invasive way to detect Parkinson’s years before symptoms appear—possibly changing outcomes for millions.

Her story is a powerful reminder that even the most unlikely human quirks can lead to life-saving discoveries.