Runny Nose And Parkinsons Disease
Runny nose, or rhinorrhea in medical jargon, is an annoying symptom that has been shown in a number of studies to be more common among people with PD than those without PD. The rhinorrhea of PD is not associated with a viral infection or environmental allergies, or any other common cause of runny nose.
Rhinorrhea can be an early feature of PD, sometimes present at the time of diagnosis. In fact, studies have shown that rhinorrhea is not correlated with disease duration, disease severity, or whether the PD is characterized more by tremor or gait difficulties. One study tested the smell of those with runny nose versus those without and determined that the presence of rhinorrhea did not correlate with deficits in the sense of smell.
There are no studies in the medical literature addressing how to treat the runny nose associated with PD. Ipratropium bromide is an anti-cholinergic medication that does not cross the blood-brain barrier and is available in two forms an inhaled form to treat asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema and a nasal spray that is used to treat allergic and non-allergic runny nose. The nasal spray may be worth a try in PD-related rhinorrhea.
Breathing And Coughing Problems
Hi all,
Im a Biomedical science student from the Netherlands and I have a few questions concerning breathing and coughing in people with Parkinsons disease for my research. Breathing and coughing problems seem to be underestimated among doctors when treating Parkinsons disease patients so Im wondering how you experience these problems?
What type of breathing and/or coughing problems do you experience because of Parkinsons disease ? Maybe you do not experience any breathing and/or coughing problems at all because of Parkinsons disease.
How big of an impact do these problems have on you daily life ?
Do you notice a difference in breathing or coughing when you are in OFF state compared to your ON state ?
Do you experience any anxiety because of your breathing and/or coughing problems caused by Parkinsons disease?
Id also like to know your age if possible and also at what age you were diagnosed with Parkinsons disease.
This is not an official questionnaire but Im just very curious what type of breathing and coughing problems people with Parkinsons disease deal with and how it affects their daily lives!
Thanks in advance!
I was able to avoid those chest infections in that way. I have continued to walk every second day for one hour since 1994. I have been able to stop taking any Pd medication in 2002. I still have Pd but at a much lower more manageable level.
Read my profile and contact me.
What Is Parkinsons Disease
Parkinsonâs disease is a progressive, neurological disease that mainly affects movement but can also affect cognition. Parkinsonâs disease results from the destruction of nerve cells in a part of the brain called the basal ganglia.
Different parts of the brain work together by sending signals to each other to coordinate all of our thoughts, movements, emotions, and senses. When we want to move, a signal is sent from the basal ganglia to the thalamus and then to the cerebral cortex, all different parts of the brain. Nerve cells in the brain communicate by using chemicals. A chemical called dopamine is produced in a group of cells called the substantia nigra and is essential for normal movement. When the cells die, they can no longer produce and send dopamine, so the signal to move doesnât get communicated. By the time a person starts to experience motor symptoms of Parkinsonâs, theyâve already lost approximately 50% of their dopamine producing cells. People may experience non-motor symptoms from loss of other neurotransmitters up to ten years before motor symptoms are noticed.
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What Are Some Of The Disorders That Cause Hoarseness And How Are They Treated
Your doctor will ask you about your health history and how long you’ve been hoarse. Depending on your symptoms and general health, your doctor may send you to an otolaryngologist . An otolaryngologist will usually use an endoscope to get a better view of the vocal folds. In some cases, your doctor might recommend special tests to evaluate voice irregularities or vocal airflow.
Hoarseness can have several possible causes and treatments, as described below:
Laryngitis. Laryngitis is one of the most common causes of hoarseness. It can be due to temporary swelling of the vocal folds from a cold, an upper respiratory infection, or allergies. Your doctor will treat laryngitis according to its cause. If it’s due to a cold or upper respiratory infection, your doctor might recommend rest, fluids, and nonprescription pain relievers. Allergies might be treated similarly, with the addition of over-the-counter allergy medicines.
Vocal fold hemorrhage. Vocal fold hemorrhage occurs when a blood vessel on the surface of the vocal fold ruptures and the tissues fill with blood. If you lose your voice suddenly during strenuous vocal use , you may have a vocal fold hemorrhage. Sometimes a vocal fold hemorrhage will cause hoarseness to develop quickly over a short amount of time and only affect your singing but not your speaking voice. Vocal fold hemorrhage must be treated immediately with total voice rest and a trip to the doctor.
Forget Fava Beans For Parkinsons
Fava beans contain an amino acid known as levodopa. Levodopa is an active ingredient in some Parkinsons medications. Seems like a good reason to eat a lot of fava beans, right?
Nope. Dr. Gostkowski explains that the amount in the beans is tiny compared to whats in your medication. You cant eat enough fava beans to have any effect on your symptoms, he says.
Bananas also have levodopa in them, Dr. Gostkowski says. But, like fava beans, its not possible to eat enough bananas to affect PD symptoms. Of course, if you like fava beans or bananas, enjoy! But dont go overboard or expect them to work like medication. Eat a variety of fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains for balance.
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Want To Learn More About The Latest Research In Parkinsons Disease Ask Your Questions In Our Research Forum
Stage 3As motor symptoms become worse, patients may begin to experience loss of balance leading to falls and movement can become very slow. Although many patients can still live independently they may have difficulty in everyday activities such as eating or dressing.
MORE: How does Parkinsons disease affect the brain?
Stage 4In this later stage, symptoms are now extremely limiting. Many patients can still stand without assistance but movement is greatly impaired. Most will need help with everyday activities and will not be able to look after themselves.
Stage 5This is the most advanced stage of the disease and most patients will experience difficulty in walking and standing, often requiring a wheelchair. Assistance will be needed in all areas of daily life as motor skills are seriously impaired. In addition, people with advanced Parkinsons disease may also begin to suffer hallucinations.
MORE: How Parkinsons disease affects your body.
Parkinsons News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a progressive inflammation of the lungs that makes breathing difficult. It is caused by long-term exposure to irritating gases and/or dust particles, most often cigarette smoke.
Symptoms may take years to develop. They include a chronic cough with mucus , wheezing, chest tightness, fatigue, constant colds, swollen ankles, and cyanosis Depression is often a factor due to reduced quality of life.
Treatment is important because there is a greater risk of heart disease and lung cancer in COPD patients. Though the condition cannot be cured, it can be managed to reduce risks and allow good quality of life.
COPD is commonly misdiagnosed and so careful testing is done. Diagnosis is made through patient history physical examination lung function tests blood tests and chest x-ray or CT scan.
Treatment involves quitting smoking and avoiding exposure to other lung irritants use of inhalers to ease symptoms steroids lung therapies and getting influenza and pneumonia vaccines as recommended.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms: fatigue, cough and dyspnea related to smoking, cough, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping
Symptoms that always occur with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : cough and dyspnea related to smoking
Symptoms that never occur with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : rectal bleeding
Urgency: Primary care doctor
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What Can You Do If You Have Pd
- Work with your doctor to create a plan to stay healthy. This might include the following:
- A referral to a neurologist, a doctor who specializes in the brain
- Care from an occupational therapist, physical therapist or speech therapist
- Meeting with a medical social worker to talk about how Parkinson’s will affect your life
For more information, visit our Treatment page.
Page reviewed by Dr. Chauncey Spears, Movement Disorders Fellow at the University of Florida, a Parkinsons Foundation Center of Excellence.
A Common Cough Syrup Drug Just Passed Another Trial As Parkinson’s Treatment
A drug first discovered over 50 years ago and long used as a medicine for coughs and respiratory illnesses appears to show promise in treating a very different kind of sickness: Parkinson’s disease.
Ambroxol, an active ingredient in cough mixtures since the 1970s, has been investigated in recent years for its apparent potential to halt the progression of Parkinson’s, and already this year, the drug has passed two important milestones that may bring us closer to a much-hoped-for treatment.
Last month, a multi-institutional team of researchers led by University College London reported the results of a small Phase II clinical trial suggesting that ambroxol was safe and well-tolerated in human patients with Parkinson’s disease, while hinting at possible neuroprotective effects that need to be examined further in subsequent trials.
Based on these outcomes, last week funding was announced to continue the next steps in evaluating ambroxol in a much larger cohort of people with Parkinson’s, while also seeking to learn more about how individual patient genotypes may contribute to the disease.
“The ambroxol study is important because there are no treatments available for Parkinson’s that slow, stop, or reverse ” says Simon Stott, deputy director of research at The Cure Parkinson’s Trust, one of the bodies funding the research program.
“All of the current medications only deal with the symptoms of the condition they do nothing to delay the progression of Parkinson’s.”
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If You Have Swallowing Difficulty What Can Be Done
In some cases, swallowing function varies in response to dopamine medication doses, much like other aspects of motor function. Therefore, if swallowing becomes problematic, an increase in dopaminergic medications can be tried. In addition, make sure you undergo a swallow evaluation when you are in the ON state.
Even before a formal swallow study, you can take steps to increase the efficiency of your swallow. These include:
- Sit upright during all eating and drinking, even when taking pills
- Tilt the head slightly forward, not backward, as you swallow
- Take small bites of food, chew thoroughly, and do not add any more food until everything from the first bite has been swallowed
- Take small sips of liquid
- Concentrate while moving the food backward in the mouth with the tongue
- Double swallow if the food did not go down completely with the first swallow
- Sometimes taking a sip of liquid between bites of food can help to wash the food down
- If eating is very tiring, try several smaller meals spaced out during the day instead of three large meals.
Cough Syrup Drug Being Trialled As Parkinsons Treatment
14 February 2020
After finding that a drug found in cough syrups may have use as a treatment for Parkinsons disease, UCL researchers have received funding for the next stage in clinical trials.
Ambroxol, a medication originally designed to clear phlegm and ease coughing for people with respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, is being tested to see if it can slow down the progression of Parkinsons disease by keeping cells healthier for longer.
A research team led by Professor Tony Schapira reported in January that ambroxol was safe and well-tolerated in 17 study participants with Parkinsons disease.
According to the findings published in JAMA Neurology, the drug also effectively crossed the blood-brain barrier and increased levels of the glucocerebrosidase protein in the participants brain cells. This protein allows cells to remove waste more effectively, a function which evidence suggests is deficient in some people with Parkinsons. Increasing levels of the protein may have the potential to keep cells healthier for longer and, therefore, slow Parkinsons progression.
By increasing levels of GCase, ambroxol allows cells to remove waste, which would ideally keep cells healthier for longer and could slow down the progression of Parkinsons, explained Professor Schapira.
The iLCT committee had prioritised ambroxol in 2014.
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Correlation Between Pneumological Drugs And Pd
In this scenario, the effects of drugs commonly used by the pneumologist should also be considered. For instance, some studies recently reviewed by Hopfneret al. postulated the possible correlation between -adrenoreceptors and PD . Anticholinergic drugs are frequently used for obstructive pulmonary disorders and systemic anticholinergics may play a part in PD . Acetylcholine has a key role in modulating dopaminergic activity in the basal ganglia, and its inhibition may increase central dopaminergic tone . Anticholinergic bronchodilators might have central effects, as reported by some authors . An effect on motor disturbances in PD may be reasonable, even if to our knowledge this has not been investigated in the current literature. However, it should be considered that anticholinergics may be associated with cognitive impairment and delirium , and these adverse effects may be even more common in the advanced stage of PD, when dementia is a very common feature.
Apda In Your Community
APDAParkinson’s Disease SymptomsCould this be due to Parkinsons Disease? Uncommon non-motor symptoms of Parkinsons Disease
It is common for a person with Parkinsons disease to attribute every new symptom that develops to PD. That is largely because the list of non-motor symptoms commonly associated with PD is so varied, it can seem that almost anything is a symptom of PD! But if you take a closer look, there are some symptoms that are very commonly associated with PD, others that are virtually never associated with PD, and some in between.
Lets divide up non-motor symptoms into the following categories:
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Ace Inhibitor Induced Cough
ACE Inhibitors are drugs used to prevent, treat or improve symptoms in conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart failure and diabetes. In rare cases, these drugs can cause serious side effects that can be life-threatening. In other cases, it can cause a cough that can affect your quality-of-life.
Rarity: Common
Top Symptoms: cough with dry or watery sputum
Symptoms that always occur with ace inhibitor induced cough: cough with dry or watery sputum
Symptoms that never occur with ace inhibitor induced cough: fever
Urgency: Primary care doctor
Parkinsons Disease And The Gut
In Part 1 of this 3-part blog I cover questions or concerns that many of my patients with Parkinsons disease have that center around the gut.
1. Gastrointestinal symptoms of Parkinsons disease
Up to 70% of patients with PD have gastrointestinal symptoms, often beginning years prior to the onset of motor symptoms, along the entire length of the gastrointestinal tract. I will describe the issues that can arise from top to bottom, so to speak.
Symptoms of the mouth and throat include the slowing down and reduction of the swallow response, resulting in drooling or repeated swallows being required in early stages of PD. As the disease progresses, swallowing difficulty may worsen, resulting in aspiration , which can be silent or associated with coughing, choking, or pneumonia. Dysphagia and aspiration should be evaluated by a swallow study, performed by a speech therapist. Treatment recommendations include chewing more slowly, clearing ones throat before taking another bite, eating while sitting up with the chin tucked, and changing the texture of the solids and liquids to be easier and safer to swallow.
For more on management of constipation, please see Part 2 of this blog.
- Green leafy vegetables
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Increased Feelings Of Anxiety Or Depression
Anxiety and depression have been linked to Parkinsons. In addition to movement problems, the disease can also have an impact on your mental health. Its possible that changes in your emotional well-being can be a sign of changing physical health as well.
If you are more anxious than usual, have lost interest in things, or feel a sense of hopelessness, talk to your doctor.
Do People Die From Parkinson’s
PD does not directly kill patients people with PD die from other causes, not from PD itself. Two major causes of death for those with PD are falls and pneumonia.
People with PD are at higher risk of falling, and serious falls that require surgery carry the risk of infection, adverse events with medication and anesthesia, heart failure, and blood clots from immobility.3
Pneumonia is a common cause of death, and those with PD are at risk for aspiration pneumonia.3 People with PD often have problems with swallowing, so the risk of aspirating food or drink, or having food or drink going down the wrong pipe is higher. In PD, the person may not be able to cough up the food or drink they aspirated, and it can remain in the lungs, eventually causing an infection.3 Even with general pneumonia, when coughing is weakened, as in PD, the mucus and other material that needs to be coughed up isnt able to be expelled, and this makes effective treatment of pneumonia more difficult in those with PD.
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