Dysphagia and drooling in parkinson disease improved by sensory cues

Abstract

In the Parkinson disease (PD) ones of the most common motor and non-motor symptoms are respectively dysphagia and drooling. The usual management includes swallowing rehabilitation maneuvers especially for the oral and pharyngeal phases. Basing on the role of sensory cues demonstrated for gait and dysarthria we describe two cases of PD with dysphagia symptoms and poor saliva control who were subjected to rehabilitation therapy combined with visual and auditory cues. The dysphagia-related impairments have a direct influence on the nutritional and health status of the patients and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The results observed at the early and late controls were encouraging and promote the research about the role of sensory cues in enhance the efficacy of the physical rehabilitation.