Most reliable tests for Parkinson's?

DO A SSEARCH OF Awoman named Joy Milne. It's about a woman whose husband had PF and she had noticed a change in the way h smelled. That smell has been linked to Parkindon's and there are many tests going on to ffigure out h ow to leverage that finding. Researchers gav mer 40 t-shirts. some of them had been worn bypeoplewho had parkinsons; others were ward bypeoplewho did not have Parkinsons. She got 39 of them right-----sshe had ssaid one shrit hadd been worn by someone with Parkinsons and he didnt. But 8months later, hthis man contacted her and told her henow had Parkinson's So she got 100% on her test. The National Institiutes of Health are teaching dogs t o pick up the scent. I rather like the odd coincidence that one of the primary indiccators thaat a person has PD is that they have lost their sense of smell, and smellis one way it can be identified. There is some substance that comes along with parkinsond that manifests itself in a smell. Imagin going to adoctor and he brings out a dog to sniff you and see whethe you have Parkinson;s. ;0

my experience is FIRST---be seen by a movement disorder specialist. they know the protocol. they will conduct as others said an in-clinic evaluation. after that they will know the correct path should any further tests be warranted. i posted this on a sperate thread---google "Stanford neurologist Parkinson's disease physical exam" its a good source to understanding the clinical eval. But definitely see a movement disorder specialist.

I think the Syn-One skin biopsy test detects Parkinsons as well as MSA.

I was diagnosed by a Movement Specialist after a clinical and symptom evaluation. It was confirmed by a follow-up DAT scan. My other physicians had attributed my tremors (only presenting with my left hand) to nerve damage. They did not associate my nonmotor symptoms (e.g., voice change, gait, constipation, fatigue, etc.) to PD. My Movement Specialist linked everything and made the diagnosis.

To be fair, although discussed, I did not highlight my nonmotor symptoms to my other physicians. My Movement Specialist knew the right questions to ask and the right clinical tests to evaluate.

Good luck with your journey.

@sunnyduckel Thanks!

@tngirl103 The doctor I saw was just listed as a neurologist because I didn't know what I had, but he seemed to have had experience identifying people with PD. I was only 38 at that time, but he was 100% sure, which was confirmed by the PET scan (and the next 10 years).

Anyway, I think picking someone who is classified as specializing in movement disorders is probably a good idea.

@sunnyduckel
Thanks, and I hope you are doing well.

@tngirl103 I had a neurologist order a DATscan to determine Parkinson’s as well as other tests.

@nova11723
DATscan

@nova11723
What kind of doctor did you see? A movement disorder specialist?
ThanksDebbie