Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30923326›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2019

Dogs demonstrate the existence of an epileptic seizure odour in humans.

Amélie Catala, Marine Grandgeorge, Jean-Luc Schaff, Hugo Cousillas, Martine Hausberger, Jennifer Cattet

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Human-dog trust and cohesion within French military canine teams.Military psychology : the official journal of the Division of Military Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Amélie CatalaUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35380 Paimpont, France. amelie.catala@univ-rennes1.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2948-6537
Marine GrandgeorgeUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35380 Paimpont, France.
Jean-Luc SchaffAssociation Handi'Chiens, 13 Rue de l'Abbé Groult, Paris, France.
Hugo CousillasUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, France.
Martine HausbergerCNRS, Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35380 Paimpont, France.
Jennifer CattetMedical Mutts, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FRCentre Hospitalier Régional et Universitaire de Nancy · FR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although different studies have shown that diseases such as breast or lung cancer are associated with specific bodily odours, no study has yet tested the possibility that epileptic seizures may be reflected in an olfactory profile, probably because there is a large variety of seizure types. The question is whether a "seizure-odour", that would be transversal to individuals and types of seizures, exists. This would be a pre requisite for potential anticipation, either by electronic systems (e.g., e-noses) or trained dogs. The aim of the present study therefore was to test whether trained dogs, as demonstrated for cancer or diabetes, may discriminate a general epileptic seizure odor (different from body odours of the same person in other contexts and common to different persons). The results were very clear: all dogs discriminated the seizure odour. The sensitivity and specificity obtained were amongst the highest shown up to now for discrimination of diseases. This constitutes a first proof that, despite the variety of seizures and individual odours, seizures are associated with olfactory characteristics. These results open a large field of research on the odour signature of seizures. Further studies will aim to look at potential applications in terms of anticipation of seizures.

Indexed as

AnimalsDog DiseasesDogsElectronicsEpilepsyFemaleHumansOdorantsSeizuresSensitivity and SpecificitySmell

Identifiers

PMID30923326
PMCPMC6438971
OpenAlexW2924303454

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.