Salivary gland dysfunction

Q; 78 year old male with a past medical history of Parkinson disease is admitted to ICU with stroke. This patient is prone to have? (select one)

A) xerostomia 
B) Sialorrhea


Answer: B

Major neuro-muscular diseases prone to cause Sialorrhea (excess drooling) are amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, and Parkinson disease. Actually, this is not a true salivary gland dysfunction but saliva pools in the mouth due to a disability of swallowing. Similarly, it is also common in patients with Alzheimer's disease or myasthenia gravis as these patient are treated with reversible cholinesterase inhibitors.

#neurology


Reference:

Hockstein NG, Samadi DS, Gendron K, Handler SD. Sialorrhea: a management challenge. Am Fam Physician 2004; 69:2628.