J Korean Dysphagia Soc.  2015 Jul;5(2):57-60.

Dysphgia in Parkinson’s Disease

• Yoon SY
• Park YG

Abstract

Dysphagia is a frequent symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and the main cause of aspiration pneumonia and death of patients with PD. It is also associated with nutritional problems, pulmonary complications and quality of life of PD patients. The prevalence is very high in PD patients, varying from 77% to 95%, but exact pathophysiology and mechanism remains obscure. Dysphagia associated with PD has been reported to affect all stages of swallowing including oral, pharyngeal, esophageal phase, but oral and pharyngeal phases are more often abnormal than esophageal phase. There are several treatment strategies for dysphagia of PD patients such as rehabilitative treatment including speech therapy, respiratory muscle strengthening, pharmacologic treatment, deep brain stimulation and surgical treatment. But, the effects of these treatments are still limited, thus individualized and interdisciplinary approach is recommended.

Keyword

Parkinson’s disease; Dysphagia; Treatment