The Smell of Disease: People Have a Way of Detecting Their Illness by 'Smelling' It

A team of researchers have found that individuals can smell disease through their nose which can detect if they are fighting against illnesses.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute say there is an anecdotal and scientific evidence to suggest that different diseases have particular smells. For instance, scrofula, an infection of the lymph nodes, is reported to smell like stale beer, and a person who suffers from diabetes is known to sometimes have breath that smells of acetone.

"In this current study, we have studied the ability of humans to detect disease by smell," said Professor Mats Olsson, lead author of the study. "Being able to detect these smells would represent a critical adaptation that would allow us to avoid potentially dangerous illnesses. The question we asked ourselves in the study was whether such an adaptation might exist already at an early stage of the disease, thereby reflecting a biomarker for illness."

Professor Olsson and his colleagues tested eight participants who were injected with either a form of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or a saline solution. The volunteers were asked to wear tight shirts to help absorb their sweat over the course of four hours. A second group of 40 volunteers were then asked to smell the sweat samples. Generally, they rated the t-shirts from the LPS group as having a more intense and unpleasant smell than other t-shirts.

"Interestingly, in a chemical assay the researchers found no difference in the overall amount of odorous compounds between the LPS and control group. This suggests that there must have been a delectable difference in the composition of those compounds instead," said Professor Olsson.