Constipation, Urinary and Sexual Dysfunction: Autonomic Complications of Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is most often marked by the association of resting tremors, complications with posture and abnormal gait. For many Parkinson's disease patients, the symptoms of the disease go well beyond these motor dysfunctions.

Complications of Parkinson's disease also involve those associated with gastrointestinal complications, urinary disorders and even sexual dysfunction. Also known as autonomic complications, the patient who suffers from Parkinson's disease experiences a gamut of autonomic complications, often independent of medication therapy.

One aspect of autonomic dysfunction, in the Parkinson's patient, is the development of a gastrointestinal complication, often before Parkinson's disease is even diagnosed. To suffer from this GI complication, the Parkinson's patient will experience a marked decrease in constipation, often difficult to treat with even standard constipation remedies. Constipation is so common in the Parkinson's disease patient that is the symptoms, beyond motor dysfunction, that is most often reported and treated.

In addition to complications with GI processing and constipation, Parkinson's disease patients also find great difficulty in managing urinary control. Unlike constipation, which often occurs at the beginning stage of Parkinson's disease, the frequency and severity of urological complications is directly related to the progression of the disease. It is believed the increased urinary incontinence can be directly related to progressive neurodegeneration of the central nervous system and may even be treated with deep brain stimulation.