Swallowing improvement after levodopa treatment in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: lack of evidence

Ailton Melo; Larissa Monteiro

doi:10.1016/j.parkreldis.2012.11.017

Swallowing improvement after levodopa treatment in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: lack of evidence

Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2013 Mar;19(3):279-81. doi: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2012.11.017. Epub 2012 Dec 8.

Authors

Ailton Melo¹, Larissa Monteiro

Affiliation

¹ Division of Neurology and Epidemiology, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil.

PMID: 23231973
DOI: 10.1016/j.parkreldis.2012.11.017

Abstract

Swallowing impairment is the main cause of pulmonary infection and death in Parkinson's disease (PD). To date, there is no established effective treatment to restore swallowing function among these subjects. Levodopa is considered the gold standard treatment for motor symptoms in PD but its efficacy in improving oropharyngeal and esophageal dysphagia remains controversial.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Antiparkinson Agents / therapeutic use*
Deglutition / drug effects*
Deglutition Disorders / drug therapy*
Deglutition Disorders / etiology
Evidence-Based Medicine
Humans
Levodopa / therapeutic use*
Parkinson Disease / complications
Parkinson Disease / drug therapy*

Substances

Antiparkinson Agents
Levodopa