1. Dry mouth: an overlooked autonomic symptom of Parkinson's disease.
- Author
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Cersosimo MG, Raina GB, Calandra CR, Pellene A, Gutiérrez C, Micheli FE, and Benarroch EE
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antiparkinson Agents therapeutic use, Female, Humans, Levodopa therapeutic use, Male, Middle Aged, Mouth Diseases drug therapy, Parkinson Disease drug therapy, Parkinson Disease epidemiology, Prevalence, Sialorrhea epidemiology, Sialorrhea etiology, Surveys and Questionnaires, Autonomic Nervous System Diseases etiology, Mouth Diseases epidemiology, Mouth Diseases etiology, Parkinson Disease complications
- Abstract
There is involvement of salivary glands by α-synuclein pathology in PD. However, the prevalence of dry mouth has not been systematically assessed in these patients. We studied 97 PD patients and 86 controls using a structured questionnaire. Dry mouth was reported by 60.8% of PD patients and 27.9% of controls (p < 0.0001). Dry mouth and drooling coexisted in 30% of cases. Only 12% of patients had reported dry mouth to their physicians. Dry mouth is a frequent but underreported symptom and may be an early manifestation of autonomic involvement in PD.
- Published
- 2011
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