Objective: To assess the relationship between gait performance and the noninvasive detection of gaseous biomarkers emitted from the skin in denovo persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: PD affects over ten million people globally but is often misdiagnosed. Current diagnostic tools are costly and unreliable for early detection. Gait performance shows promise as an indicator of health, and studies suggest specific biomarkers in super-smellers and sebum analysis differ in PD patients versus healthy adults. Thus, understanding the relationship between the two potential biomarkers in denovo patients may inform the early detection of PD.

Method: Data from biosensors and gait assessments were collected from healthy young adults (HYAs), healthy older adults (HOAs), persons with PD on dopaminergic medication (PD-on), and denovo persons with PD (PD-off). Concentrations of PD-related gases (perillic aldehyde, eicosane, hippuric acid, and octadecanol) were collected every two minutes for 30 minutes via one biosensor placed on the forehead. Gait speed and stride length measurements were collected with Opal sensors during overground walking. Additional demographic information (age, race, gender, education, and handedness) were collected.

Results: Data collection is ongoing. Preliminary results reveal that the direction of differences in gas concentration amplitude between groups (HYA=17.433, HOA=14.878, and PD-off=9.785) is similar to the differences in gait spatioparameters between groups, including stride length (HYA=1.44, HOA=1.41, PD-off=1.28), and gait speed (HYA=1.38, HOA=1.43, PD-off=1.57). Upon further collection and analysis, we expect that this trend in results will hold and demonstrate a significant association between biomarkers.

Conclusion:

These preliminary results support the notion that gait speed and stride length may be associated with the emission of gaseous biomarkers associated with PD. Further data will aid in a better understanding of how cutaneous emission and gait performance may contribute to early diagnostic tools for PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/enhancing-parkinsons-disease-detection-through-chemical-and-motor-biomarkers/