Smell and your brain [Infographic]

Early detection is a crucial step to understanding the causes of and developing better treatments for Parkinson’s disease (PD).  Loss of sense of smell is a common but little-noticed symptom that may occur years before the onset of PD motor symptoms.

The Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) aims to learn more about the link between sense of smell and PD. This study could help researchers detect, and potentially even treat PD before motor symptoms occur. PPMI seeks 10,000 volunteers – people over the age of 60 and do not have Parkinson’s disease – to take an online smell survey at www.michaeljfox.org/takethesmellsurvey.