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Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Author Spotlight: Exploring Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease

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Published on: September 22, 2023

Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease.

Casper Skjærbæk¹, Karoline Knudsen¹, Jacob Horsager¹

¹Department of Nuclear Medicine & PET, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 165, J220, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.

Journal of Clinical Medicine

|February 12, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Parkinson's disease (PD) involves aggregated alpha-synuclein in the gut, causing non-motor symptoms years before diagnosis. Objective measures are crucial for understanding gastrointestinal dysfunction in PD patients.

Keywords:

Parkinson’s disease alpha-synuclein autonomic constipation gastrointestinal parasympathetic

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Gastroenterology
Pathology

Background:

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second leading neurodegenerative disorder.
Pathological alpha-synuclein aggregates in PD affect both the brain and the entire digestive tract.
Gastrointestinal issues like dysphagia and constipation are common non-motor symptoms in PD patients, often preceding clinical diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

To summarize the types and prevalence of subjective gastrointestinal symptoms in Parkinson's disease.
To outline the objective gastrointestinal dysfunction observed in Parkinson's disease.
To discuss the potential role of the gastrointestinal tract in the etiopathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

Main Methods:

Review of existing literature on gastrointestinal symptoms and dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.
Analysis of subjective patient-reported symptoms via questionnaires.
Evaluation of objective measures of gastrointestinal function.

Main Results:

Gastrointestinal pathology, including alpha-synuclein deposition, is prevalent in Parkinson's disease patients.
Subjective gastrointestinal symptoms often do not correlate well with objective measures of dysfunction.
Questionnaires may underestimate the severity of gastrointestinal dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.

Conclusions:

The gastrointestinal tract plays a significant role in Parkinson's disease, potentially initiating the disease process.
Objective assessment of gastrointestinal function is essential for accurate evaluation in Parkinson's disease research.
Further investigation into gut-brain axis in Parkinson's disease is warranted.