1000 smell tests have now been sent

" I'm pleased to say all 1000 smell tests have been dispatched and over 600 have now been completed online with a further 100 or so complete manually. We will be following up on the ones that have not yet been completed in the coming weeks, so if you are yet to do it please do so at your earliest convenience."

Hand dominance and Parkinson's onset

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21994149

"This systematic review and meta-analysis shows that hand dominance appears to have a role in how Parkinson's disease presents. It shows that symptoms are twice as likely to begin in the dominant hand than in the non-dominant hand."

Levodopa treatment does not appear to accelerate Parkinson's disease

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21917769
"Some laboratory-based studies have previously suggested that levodopa administration may lead to degeneration of dopaminergic nerve cells. This has not been shown in studies in patients. This latest report shows that there is no evidence that long term dopamine replacement has toxic effects on nerve cells."

American smell test in UK-based study

"Some of our participants have expressed their concern over our use of an American smell test in this UK-based study. Some of the smells are felt to not be familiar to members of the UK population. Please let me reassure you that we have a great many years experience using this test and have hundreds of sets of results from normal British people - we know what is a normal score for people in this country. It is these normal results we will be comparing your scores in the study to. If you have any further comments or questions, please email me at - a.noyce@qmul.ac.uk"

Combining smell tests and ultrasound to diagnose Parkinson's

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21978091

"A study in a small number of Parkinson's patients suggesting that ultrasound scanning across the skull and smell testing could help in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. If combined, they may be even more helpful. However, such tests need further investigation and as such should not currently be used routinely when making a diagnosis of Parkinson's."

The Oral Contraceptive Pill and risk of Parkinson's

Abstract
This case-control study suggests that previous use of the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) in women may increase the risk of subsequent Parkinson's. There is no demonstrable effect conveyed by previous post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy. It is worth pointing out that 4 previous reports have considered an association between the oral contraceptive pill and subsequent Parkinson's. One showed a decreased risk of Parkinson's in previous users of the OCP, two studies showed no association at all and one showed a minor risk increase but only if there was over 5 years of OCP use. In summary, any link remains uncertain and more work is required.