Multiple sclerosis could one day be diagnosed by a BREATH TEST because 'patients exhale different compounds compared to healthy people'

People exhale compounds called VCOs, and scientists at The University of Huddersfield have found differences between MS patients and healthy people.



Multiple sclerosis could be diagnosed with a breath test in the future, scientists hope, by measuring VOCs that indicate disease

Dr Susan Kohlhaas, director of research at MS Society, admitted that a breath biopsy 'may sound futuristic'.

However, she added: 'MS researchers today are achieving some incredible things – and these findings, whilst early, are very encouraging.

'There are over 100,000 people with MS in the UK and we often hear that the path to diagnosis is an incredibly stressful time.

The techniques used for diagnosis are invasive, expensive and often laborious, so this exciting development would address a major unmet need.

VOCs are what dogs are able to sniff out in the early stages of many cancers, including ovarian and lung, research has shown.

Dr Kohlhaas' comments were based on promising research by academics at the University of Huddersfield last year.

Currently the diagnosis of MS is based on symptoms which are vague, including fatigue, muscle stiffness and difficulty balancing.

MS damages nerves in the body and makes it harder to do everyday things, like walk, talk, eat and think. It's relentless, painful, and disabling.

It is most commonly diagnosed in people in their 20s and 30s, and one of the most the most common causes of disability in younger adults.

As well as providing a rapid and inexpensive diagnosis method, the VOCs could also be an indicator of how patients are responding to drugs as well as their disease progression.

Soo Lyon-Milne, 53, from Stockport, lives with the secondary progressive form of MS. She said: 'Had this test been available at the time my symptoms started, doctors could have diagnosed me a good ten years sooner.

'There are no drugs for my type of MS and that might have given me a chance to have treatment.

'Also MRIs can be quite scary – I've never thought of myself as a claustrophobic person but I am in those machines. It's nerve-wracking. Anything to help others avoid it would be fantastic.'

WHAT ARE VOCS?

There are two different types of VOCs - volatile organic compounds.

Exogenous VOCs are tiny particles released by hundreds of household items which they are build into, including furniture, candles, incense and carpets.

An example is paint which has a strong odour initially which evaporates over time.

Endogenous VOCs are made from processes in the human body.

Phoebe Tate, from the University of Huddersfield, said: 'They are the end product of the metabolic reactions going on in your body.

'When you breathe them out, you can get a picture of whats going on the body.'

Research into VOCs is new and scientists don't understand what each one means or where it originates.

Dogs have an extremely sensitive sense of smell and can pick up on VOCs. They are released during the early stages of many cancers, including ovarian, lung and colorectal.

Scientific studies have shown pooches can separate between blood and tissue samples donated from ovarian cancer patients and healthy people by picking up on minute quantities of VOCs.

Studies have also shown dogs can sniff out prostate cancer in a man's urine, as well as breast and lung forms of the disease from compounds in a patient's breath.

VOCs are unique to each type of cancer.

For example, a healthy lung and a lung infected with cancer exhale different compounds.

If a dog detects this on their owner, they may try to alert them.

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