First test to detect Parkinson's disease developed by studying tissue taken from under the jaw

Doctors say tissue sample taken from the saliva glands could reveal abnormal protein, which is tell-tale sign But charity warns the study was small and too invasive to become a routine test

By Anna Hodgekiss

PUBLISHED: 12:06 EST, 11 January 2013 | UPDATED: 12:14 EST, 11 January 2013

Former boxer Muhammad Ali is one of world's best-known people to suffer from Parkinson's disease, for which is there is no diagnostic test

Scientists have developed the first diagnostic test to detect Parkinson's disease.

The new test is based on taking a tissue sample from the saliva glands found under the lower jaw.

Currently, there are no tools to detect the devastating condition that mainly affects people aged over fifty.

Instead doctors base a diagnosis on common symptoms, which include slowness, stiffness of muscles and tremors.

Described as a 'big step forward' for treatment, scientists now suggest a portion of a person's saliva gland can show up the illness.

Dr Charles Adler, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, Arizona, said: 'There is currently no diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease.

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First test to detect Parkinson's disease developed by studying tissue taken from under the jaw