Research results have identified that the cause of dysphagia, known as a major factor in the increase in mortality and deterioration of quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease, is related to the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the striatum, which plays an important role in the initiation and control of voluntary movements in the cerebrum. came out
Through these results, it can be used as a biomarker to predict the occurrence and severity of dysphagia according to the striatal dopamine transporter uptake rate in Parkinson’s disease, and provides a clue to find the anatomical location of neuromodulation treatment specific to dysphagia symptoms. It can be.
This result is the result of a joint research conducted by Professor Kim Joon-yeop of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Hanyang University Hospital, and the Veterans Medical Research Institute of Chungang Veterans Hospital, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Neurology, and Nuclear Medicine. In the latest issue, it was found in a paper titled ‘Striatal Dopaminergic Loss and Dysphagia in Parkinson Disease’.
Gastrointestinal disorders are common symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease, and among them, dysphagia can cause malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia, leading to an increase in mortality. It is known to develop into trouble.
In the past, several studies have been conducted on brain structure degeneration related to brain activation during the swallowing process in normal people or dysphagia in stroke patients, but there have been few studies on the relationship between neurotransmitter striatal distribution and dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease patients. .
Professor Kim Jun-yeop studied 65 patients who met the selection criteria of the study among 581 patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease from 2015 to 2021 at the Central Veterans Hospital, and included in the oral and pharyngeal stages, which are the main two stages of swallowing. Through the evaluation of 14 sub-assessments, the masticatory function, transit time, and residues were evaluated for food swallowing disorders at each stage.
The difference in the degree of striatal neuron degeneration according to each stage of disability was calculated using the dopamine transporter uptake rate obtained through a positron emission tomography (PET) scan.
This study, for the first time, revealed distinct distributional differences in reduced striatal dopamine transporter availability by stage of dysphagia in Parkinson’s disease.
Professor Kim said, “The pleasure of eating delicious food with mouth is a great pleasure and basic desire of the majority of people, but if disease causes the inability to chew and swallow food with the mouth, it significantly reduces the quality of life and even prolongs life. “Research on dysphagia is very important in that it enables people to live like human beings. I will do everything,” he said.
After completing his bachelor’s degree at Yonsei University College of Medicine, Professor Kim Jun-yeop received his master’s degree at the same graduate school, and is currently at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Hanyang University Hospital, where he specializes in rehabilitation of degenerative brain diseases including brain damage, Lou Gehrig’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and abnormal movement disorders, and dysphagia. Specializing in rehabilitation, etc., it combines treatment and research.
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