Excessive buccal saliva in patients with Parkinson’s disease of the French COPARK cohort

Salivation in Parkinson's disease: A scoping review

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to provide an overview of the available literature that includes both objective assessments (namely hypersalivation and hyposalivation) and the subjective experience (namely xerostomia and drooling) of salivary problems in patients with Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND

In patients with Parkinson's disease, there may be complaints of salivary problems such as xerostomia or drooling. This can have consequences for their oral health and quality of life. To date, systematic reviews have focused on drooling only.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A literature search in 4 databases was performed up to 12 February 2021. Two researchers independently assessed studies for eligibility.

RESULTS

In total, 63 studies were included. The prevalence of self-reported xerostomia ranged from 49% to 77%, and that of self-reported drooling ranged from 5% to 80%. Ten articles reported a significantly lower mean salivary flow in patients with Parkinson's disease than in controls. None of the articles with both a control group and a patient group reported a significantly higher salivary flow in patients with Parkinson's disease. When questioned about subjective salivary problems, a significantly higher prevalence of both xerostomia (7 studies) and drooling (14 studies) was found in patients with Parkinson's disease than in controls. Patients with Parkinson's disease have a lower salivary flow rate and higher prevalence of both xerostomia and drooling than controls.

CONCLUSION

The complexity of salivary problems present in patients with Parkinson's disease necessitates a multidisciplinary approach in order to avoid mutually counteracting treatments from different healthcare professionals.

The prevalence and associated factors of dysphagia in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

The prevalence and associated factors of dysphagia in Parkinson's disease (PD) are different in studies conducted in different countries. The purpose of our systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the prevalence of dysphagia in PD and to clarify its associated factors.

Methods

Two researchers systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang Database, SinoMed and VIP databases and manually searched references in the retrieved articles to identify potential research subjects. The last search was conducted on June 28, 2022. Finally, a total of 58 studies including 60 observations with 20,530 PD patients were included in our meta-analysis.

Results

The meta-analysis estimated that the pooled prevalence rate of dysphagia in PD was 36.9% (95% CI: 30.7–43.6%) and instrumental examination showed a higher prevalence (57.3%, 95% CI: 44.3–69.1%). Oceania showed the highest prevalence of dysphagia in PD (56.3%) compared to Africa (39.5%), Asia (38.6%), Europe (36.1%) and America (28.9%). Dysphagia in PD was associated with older age, lower body mass index, longer disease duration, higher Hoehn and Yahr stage and levodopa equivalent daily dose, PIGD subtype, severe motor symptoms, drooling and higher levels of depression, and lower quality of life.

Conclusions

In conclusion, our meta-analysis showed that dysphagia occurs in more than one-third of PD patients and was associated with several demographic characteristics and PD-related characteristics, motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, as well as decreased quality of life. It deserves early screening, diagnosis, and treatment in clinical practice to prevent serious complications from dysphagia.

Oral Health Disorders in Parkinson's Disease: More than Meets the Eye

Despite clinical evidence of poor oral health and hygiene in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, the mouth is often overlooked by both patients and the medical community, who generally focus on motor or psychiatric disorders considered more burdensome. Yet, oral health is in a two-way relationship with overall health—a weakened status triggering a decline in the quality of life. Here, we aim at giving a comprehensive overview of oral health disorders in PD, while identifying their etiologies and consequences. The physical (abnormal posture, muscle tone, tremor, and dyskinesia), behavioral (cognitive and neuropsychiatric disorders), and iatrogenic patterns associated with PD have an overall detrimental effect on patients’ oral health, putting them at risk for other disorders (infections, aspiration, pain, malnutrition), reducing their quality of life and increasing their isolation (anxiety, depression, communication issues). Interdisciplinary cooperation for prevention, management and follow-up strategies need to be implemented at an early stage to maintain and improve patients’ overall comfort and condition. Recommendations for practice, including (non-)pharmacological management strategies are discussed, with an emphasis on the neurologists’ role. Of interest, the oral cavity may become a valuable tool for diagnosis and prognosis in the near future (biomarkers). This overlooked but critical issue requires further attention and interdisciplinary research.