Treatment of dysautonomia associated with Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Non-motor symptoms are increasingly recognized to adversely impact on the quality of life of patients with in Parkinson's disease (PD), particularly as the disease progresses. Autonomic symptom severity in patients with PD seems to correlate with older age, greater disease severity, psychiatric complications, sleep disorders, and higher doses of dopaminergic medication. The following therapeutic strategies are frequently used in the treatment of PD-related dysautonomia: 1. Orthostatic hypotension: fludrocortisone, midodrine, and droxidopa; 2. Sialorrhea: glycopyrrolate and botulinun toxin injections; 3. Constipation: symbiotic yogurt and bulking agents, macrogol, lubiprostone, mosapride citrate and tegaserod, pyridostigmine bromide, botulinum toxin injections and sacral nerve stimulation; 4. Urinary frequency: oxybutynin, tolterodine, solifenacin, darifenacin, botulinum toxin injections; 5. Erectile dysfunction: sildenafil and other phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. More effective symptomatic and pathogenesis-targeted therapies are needed to ameliorate the non-motor symptoms of PD that usually do not respond well to dopaminergic medications.