[Sialorrhea in patients with Parkinson. A six year prospective study]

The sialorrhea has been recognised as one of the manifestations of Parkinson's disease, with a frequency of up to 80%. The evolution of patients with sialorrhea is unknown.

We study 26 male and 17 female patients with Parkinson's disease and sialorrhea.

Evaluation at three years showed that sialorrhea had persisting in 18 of them, at six years showed that persisted in 8 patients. We found significant impairment in the sialorrhea group.

If we accept the principle, that sialorrhea are levodopa-resistant disorders as non nigrostriatal symptoms, secondary to a diffuser and more extended cerebral stem degeneration, we could assume that in these patients with sialorrhea cortical-sub cortical circuits are more widely involved leading to motor and cognitive impairment and depression.