URINARY DYSFUNCTION IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

23rd June
2011 - New research

URINARY DYSFUNCTION IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry [2011] June 13 [Epub ahead of print] (Uchiyama T, Sakakibara R, Yamamoto T, Ito T, Yamaguchi C, Awa Y, Yanagisawa M, Higuchi Y, Sato Y, Ichikawa T, Yamanishi T, Hattori T, Kuwabara S.)

Urinary dysfunction is common in Parkinson's Disease, but little was known about urinary dysfunction in early and untreated Parkinson's Disease. After excluding those with other conditions that might have influenced urinary function, patients were evaluated using a urinary questionnaire and urodynamic studies. Nearly two thirds (64%) of those people with Parkinson's Disease complained of urinary symptoms. More than a quarter (28%) had urinary difficulty. The main cause

of urinary difficulty is detrusor underactivity. The detrusor is the muscle that contracts when urinating to squeeze out urine. This is because Parkinson's Disease can affect all muscles, including even those used for urinating. Bladder outlet obstruction was present in 16% of people with Parkinson's Disease. Few patients experienced quality-of-life impairment owing to urinary dysfunction, despite the problems it can cause. The urinary symptoms and urodynamic findings were not correlated with gender, type of Parkinson's Disease, or disease severity, and so were not likely to worsen over time. In cases with severe difficulty in urinating, other diagnoses should be considered.