Smell Test

Olfactory bulb (Yale School of Medicine image)

One symptom of Parkinson's Disease is the loss of the sense of smell, and Yale researchers may have discovered the connection.

Using buried food tests, the researchers found that the mice with later stage symptoms of Parkinson’s disease exhibited olfactory impairment. They found that those mice with olfactory deficits exhibited severe pathology in projection neurons of the olfactory pathway.

They also found these mice showed reduced neurogenesis in the olfactory bulb. In contrast, studies have shown that healthy aging brains continue to form new neurons in the olfactory bulb throughout life.

The Parkinson's finding on the degradation of olfactory cells may also provide a clue about why some COVID patients experience "brain fog" and the loss of their sense of smell.

Vast Benefits, Vast Risks

Microsoft research head Eric Horvitz believes that computers will be able to tell if you're sick. They will know this before you do and before you ask them to look. [bold added]

Eric Horvitz (Microsoft)

He and Microsoft colleague Ryen White, along with co-investigators from Stanford and other universities, have examined anonymized data from hundreds of millions of users of Bing, Microsoft’s search engine. They initially looked at query terms—what you search for—and the time and date of searches. Then, they added IP addresses—your computer’s unique identifier—and other location information. Most recently, they have focused on motor movements such as keystrokes, clicks and mouse activity.

This data can reveal critical diagnostic evidence. People confide intimate secrets about their health—yellow skin, odd-looking stools and other curious symptoms—to their search engine that they do not share with others, even physicians, Horvitz says. And the biometric and geographic information picked up by search engines may uncover secrets of which even users are unaware.

Just because someone did a web search on symptoms doesn't mean that he or she has cancer, but that datum can be correlated with other information, for example, if the user comes from a region with a high incidence of cancer. Similarly, a change in mouse-click speed and accuracy may indicate sleeplessness or a budding neurodegenerative condition, relatively easy to determine from other indicia (age, family history, whether the cellphone was active at 3 a.m., etc.)

We're not there yet, but we're nearing the point when computer networks will know each individual better than they know themselves. The benefits are vast, but so are the risks.

Sodden afterthought--if the Graduate were remade today, the dialogue might well go something like this:

MR. MCGUIRE: I want to say two words to you. Just two words.

BENJAMIN: Yes, sir.

MR. MCGUIRE: Are you listening?

BENJAMIN: Yes, I am.

MR. MCGUIRE: Predictive analytics.

In Tim I Trust

The Apple Watch has already breached my defenses.

The inputs: a person's

internet searches,

driving patterns ("the number of trips taken, duration of trips, left turns versus right turns and time spent on the highway versus local roads"),

how he or she uses a computer mouse or touchpad.

the time it takes to fill out a weekly online health questionnaire.

The black box: artificial intelligence and big data.

The output: the probability that he or she has early-stage Parkinson's or Alzheimer's Disease .

The above is a trend sweeping health care: the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to help better diagnose and treat patients. [bold added]

A Duke University doctor working with Microsoft researchers sifted through data on the physical movements of computer users that came from millions of internet searches. Their study found links between some behaviors—such as tremors when using a mouse, repeat queries and average scrolling velocity—and Parkinson’s disease. They used artificial intelligence, or a computer analysis, to identify which of the metrics separated a control group from those searching for Parkinson’s disease symptoms.

It used to be that family members were the first to notice that something is amiss. The machines that we touch every day--cars, phones, computers--are now more accurate, quicker, and smarter diagnosticians than loved ones. But what about individual privacy?

I HOPE that Apple lives up to its standards.

For those who are too cautious to buy a TV that can watch them, or a smart speaker that monitors what they're saying, the promise of real-time health monitoring may the lure that allows the Internet of Things(IoT) into personal space.

As for me, it's too late. My Apple Watch, which has been tracking me for 1½ years, knows more about me than my doctor.

In Tim Cook I trust (because I don't have any choice).

Adequate Compensation

Like many diseases, there is a genetic component to Parkinson's Disease, that is, if one has a relative who's afflicted, one has a higher probability of contracting it. (It doesn't bode well that Parkinson's has afflicted members on both sides of my family.)

The Honolulu YMCA conducts group-exercise classes for Parkinson's sufferers. Some attendees are aided by relatives or friends, while others who are able to drive themselves come alone. Muscles that are in danger of atrophying are stretched and flexed twice a week, and all who try---that's everyone---are applauded.

We left the Kaimuki Y and the driver was treated to a nice lunch at a restaurant on Waialae Avenue. The compensation may seem modest, but it was more than adequate. © 2014 Stephen Yuen