Diurnal drooling in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease

Oral health experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease: a scoping review

Background and aim Parkinson's disease is the fastest growing and second most common progressive neurodegenerative condition in the UK; poised to represent a major societal and health care challenge. The scoping review aims to provide an overview of the literature on the oral health (OH) experiences of people living with Parkinson's, identifying current research gaps and future priorities.Method Search strategies included three electronic databases, two grey literature databases, relevant organisations, specialist journals and hand searching of the reference lists. A data extraction tool was developed and piloted.Results A total of 121 items were included in the review. Four themes were identified: OH impact, education and training, service delivery and wider impacts of OH for people with Parkinson's (PwP). The majority of studies included were cross-sectional in design, describing the OH status of PwP.Conclusion The majority of research to date has focused on OH impact. Areas for future research include use of qualitative studies exploring the experiences, attitudes and priorities of PwP and their care partners. Inclusion of medical, dental and allied health care professionals, together with people with lived experience, is required to develop, implement and evaluate interventions to support OH.

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Drooling in Parkinson’s Disease: Results from a Longitudinal Prospective Cohort and Comparison with a Control Group

Introduction. Drooling in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is frequent but often goes underrecognized. Our aim was to examine the prevalence of drooling in a PD cohort and compare it with a control group. Specifically, we identified factors associated with drooling and conducted subanalyses in a subgroup of very early PD patients. Patients and Methods. PD patients who were recruited from January 2016 to November 2017 (baseline visit; V0) and evaluated again at a 2-year ± 30-day follow-up (V2) from 35 centers in Spain from the COPPADIS cohort were included in this longitudinal prospective study. Subjects were classified as with or without drooling according to item 19 of the NMSS (Nonmotor Symptoms Scale) at V0, V1 (1-year ± 15 days), and V2 for patients and at V0 and V2 for controls. Results. The frequency of drooling in PD patients was 40.1% (277/691) at V0 (2.4% (5/201) in controls; $p$  < 0.0001), 43.7% (264/604) at V1, and 48.2% (242/502) at V2 (3.2% (4/124) in controls; $p$  < 0.0001), with a period prevalence of 63.6% (306/481). Being older (OR = 1.032; $p$  = 0.012), being male (OR = 2.333; $p$  < 0.0001), having greater nonmotor symptom (NMS) burden at the baseline (NMSS total score at V0; OR = 1.020; $p$  < 0.0001), and having a greater increase in the NMS burden from V0 to V2 (change in the NMSS total score from V0 to V2; OR = 1.012; $p$  < 0.0001) were identified as independent predictors of drooling after the 2-year follow-up. Similar results were observed in the group of patients with ≤2 years since symptom onset, with a cumulative prevalence of 64.6% and a higher score on the UPDRS-III at V0 (OR = 1.121; $p$  = 0.007) as a predictor of drooling at V2. Conclusion. Drooling is frequent in PD patients even at the initial onset of the disease and is associated with a greater motor severity and NMS burden.

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.

Pathophysiology and Symptomatology of Drooling in Parkinson’s Disease

Drooling can present in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and it is manifested as an excessive pooling of saliva inside the oral cavity. Currently, the exact pathophysiological mechanism of drooling in PD is not yet fully explicated. Thus, it becomes crucial to understand if some clinical characteristics may emphasize drooling or if they are just concomitant. In PD, excessive drooling has been associated with a higher burden of non-motor symptoms, such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems, autonomic dysfunction, constipation and orthostatic hypotension, and of worse severity of motor fluctuations and bradykinesia. PD patients with excessive drooling also showed a reduction of striatal DAT availability at DaTSCAN imaging. Excessive drooling in patients with Parkinson’s cannot be attributed to a single factor but to a mixture of factors, including but not limited to impaired nigrostriatal pathways.

Clinical features associated with drooling in Parkinson's disease

INTRODUCTION

Drooling is characterized by an excessive pooling of saliva in the oral cavity. The exact pathophysiological mechanism of drooling in Parkinson's disease (PD) is not yet fully understood.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the relationship between drooling and other clinical features in people diagnosed with PD.

METHOD

Research on the topic was carried out on the PubMed and ScienceDirect electronic databases. Articles published between March 2015 and March 2020 were selected. Search terms and inclusion and exclusion criteria were previously defined. The articles included met those requirements.

RESULTS

Sixteen articles were included for analysis. The prevalence of drooling varies between 9.26 and 70% and can occur at any stage of the disease. Higher prevalence of drooling is related to disease duration, disease severity, older age, male, levodopa equivalent dose, hypomimia, dysphagia, dysarthria, cognition, sleep, non-dominant tremor, motor fluctuations, bradykinesia, more symmetric pattern, gastrointestinal and urinary problems, sexual dysfunction, obstipation, and orthostatic hypotension. However, it is not related to hallucinations, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, akinetic-rigid PD, mixed, nor dyskinesias.

CONCLUSION

Drooling is not caused by a single factor; it is influenced and related to several clinical features. Some clinical factors participate in the onset of drooling while others are concomitant.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire and the Sialorrhea Clinical Scale in Portuguese patients with Parkinson's disease

INTRODUCTION

To date, no valid outcome measure has been developed in European Portuguese (EP) to evaluate the Parkinsons' Disease (PD) patients' (PwP) reports regarding their swallowing disturbances.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Sialorrhea Clinical Scale for PD (SCS-PD) into EP and to determine its clinimetric properties in PwP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The original English SDQ and SCS-PD versions were cross-culturally adapted following recommendations established in international guidelines. The validation process involved 75 PwP and 65 healthy sex- and age-matched participants.

RESULTS

The EP versions of the SDQ and SCS-PD are equivalent to the original versions (content, depth, and scoring). Statistical analyses for the SDQ tool revealed good feasibility (missing data <5%), acceptability (no floor or ceiling effects), excellent internal consistency (Cronbach´s α = 0.95), good construct validity (78.5% revealed large to moderate loadings), moderate convergent validity (r = 0.60), good divergent validity (r = 0.40), good known-groups validity (p-value < .05) and a fair sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.700). Statistical analyses for the SCS-PD tool shows good feasibility, reasonable acceptability (floor effect), good internal consistency (Cronbach´s α = 0.85), good construct validity (85.7% showed between large to moderate loadings), good convergent validity (r = 0.78), good divergent validity (r = 0.39), good known groups validity (p-value < .05) and a fair sensitivity and specificity (AUC = 0.704).

CONCLUSIONS

The EP versions of the SDQ and SCS-PD maintained the characteristics of the original versions and therefore consistent tools to be used in PwP.

Drooling in Parkinson's Disease: Prevalence and Progression from the Non-motor International Longitudinal Study

Sialorrhoea in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is an often neglected yet key non-motor symptom with impact on patient quality of life. However, previous studies have shown a broad range of prevalence figures. To assess prevalence of drooling in PD and its relationship to quality of life, we performed a retrospective analysis of 728 consecutive PD patients who had a baseline and follow-up assessment as part of the Non-motor International Longitudinal Study (NILS), and for whom drooling presence and severity were available, assessed through the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS). In addition, we analysed the prevalence of associated dysphagia through self-reported outcomes. Quality of life was assessed through the PDQ-8 scale. Baseline (disease duration 5.6 years) prevalence of drooling was 37.2% (score ≥ 1 NMSS question 19), and after 3.27 ± 1.74 years follow-up, this was 40.1% (p = 0.17). The prevalence of drooling increased with age (p < 0.001). The severity of drooling, however, did not change (p = 0.12). While in 456 patients without drooling at baseline, only 16% (n = 73) had dysphagia (question 20 of the NMSS), in those with drooling this was 34.3% (p < 0.001). At follow-up, the number of patients with dysphagia had increased, 20.4% with no drooling had dysphagia, and 43.6% with drooling had dysphagia. Both at baseline and follow-up, drooling severity was significantly positively associated with quality of life (PDQ-8; r = 0.199; p < 0.001). In moderately advanced PD patients, subjective drooling occurs in over one-third of patients and was significantly associated with decreased quality of life. Dysphagia occurred significantly more often in patients with drooling.

Motor subtypes and other risk factors associated with drooling in Parkinson's disease patients

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between motor subtypes and drooling, and other risk factors associated with drooling in a large cohort of Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODS

A total of 586 PD patients were enrolled in this study. Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn & Yahr stage (H & Y stage) scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-24 item (HRSD), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were applied to all subjects. Salivary subscores of UPDRS part II were used to evaluate drooling. Constipation was diagnosed using the Rome III criteria.

RESULTS

The prevalence of drooling in this cohort is 54.6% (320/586). Non-TD subtype PD patients tend to have higher daily levodopa-equivalent dose (LED), H & Y stage, UPDRS I, UPDRS II, and UPDRS III scores, HRSD score and ESS score, a higher percentage of levodopa treatment, drooling, dyskinesia, and constipation. After adjusting for confounders, non-TD subtype, male sex, UPDRS III score, ESS and PSQI scores, and constipation were still associated with drooling, with corresponding Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were 1.865 (95% CI, 1.137-3.060), 1. 951 (95% CI, 1.326-2.869), 1.024 (95% CI, 1.002-1.046), 1.064 (95% CI, 1.024-1.105), 1.058 (95% CI, 1.000-1.119), and 1.603 (95% CI, 1.092-2.353), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Drooling is common, even in mild-to-moderate PD patients. PD patients with non-TD subtype are at a higher risk of drooling. Male sex, motor severity, excessive daytime sleepiness, poor nighttime sleep, and constipation are also associated with drooling in patients with PD.

Gut dysfunction in Parkinson's disease

Early involvement of gut is observed in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and symptoms such as constipation may precede motor symptoms. α-Synuclein pathology is extensively evident in the gut and appears to follow a rostrocaudal gradient. The gut may act as the starting point of PD pathology with spread toward the central nervous system. This spread of the synuclein pathology raises the possibility of prion-like propagation in PD pathogenesis. Recently, the role of gut microbiota in PD pathogenesis has received attention and some phenotypic correlation has also been shown. The extensive involvement of the gut in PD even in its early stages has led to the evaluation of enteric α-synuclein as a possible biomarker of early PD. The clinical manifestations of gastrointestinal dysfunction in PD include malnutrition, oral and dental disorders, sialorrhea, dysphagia, gastroparesis, constipation, and defecatory dysfunction. These conditions are quite distressing for the patients and require relevant investigations and adequate management. Treatment usually involves both pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures. One important aspect of gut dysfunction is its contribution to the clinical fluctuations in PD. Dysphagia and gastroparesis lead to inadequate absorption of oral anti-PD medications. These lead to response fluctuations, particularly delayed-on and no-on, and there is significant relationship between levodopa pharmacokinetics and gastric emptying in patients with PD. Therefore, in such cases, alternative routes of administration or drug delivery systems may be required.