[Gastrointestinal dysfunction has important implications for plasma L-dopa concentrations in Parkinson's disease].

Gastrointestinal motility dysfunctions including anorexia, nausea, heartburn, bloating, etc. are common and frequent complication of Parkinson's disease (PD). Degeneration of enteric nerves system is supposed to be a pathogenesis of these symptoms.

Vascular incontinence: incontinence in the elderly due to ischemic white matter changes.

This review article introduces the new concept of vascular incontinence, a disorder of bladder control resulting from cerebral white matter disease (WMD). The concept is based on the original observation in 1999 of a correlation between the severity of leukoareosis or WMD, urinary symptoms, gait disorder and cognitive impairment. Over the last 20 years, the realization that WMD is not a benign incidental finding in the elderly has become generally accepted and several studies have pointed to an association between geriatric syndromes and this type of pathology.

Do Sacral/Peripheral Lesions Contribute to Detrusor-Sphincter Dyssynergia?

Objectives: While detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) occurs in conjunction with lesions between the brainstem and the sacral cord, it is not well known whether sacral/peripheral lesions contribute to DSD. We studied the relationship between DSD and sacral/peripheral lesions.

Methods: One hundred and forty-four patients with diverse neurologic etiologies underwent urodynamic study and analysis of motor unit potentials in the external sphincter muscles, 117 of whom were able to void during a urodynamic test.

Is Major Depression a Risk for Bladder, Bowel, and Sexual Dysfunction?

Objectives: Although major depression may accompany bladder, bowel and sexual (pelvic organs) dysfunction, no prospective, controlled surveys have been available. The aim of the present study was to study the risk of pelvic organ dysfunction in major depression.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-four depression patients in the psychiatry clinic (97 men, 127 women; average age 42 years; 128 drug-naÏve, 96 medicated) and 391 age-matched local individuals who were undergoing an annual health survey underwent a questionnaire devised for neurologic and psychiatric cohorts.

Lower Urinary Tract Function in Spinocerebellar Ataxia 6.

Objective: To investigate lower urinary tract function in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6).

Methods: We recruited, without bias, nine SCA6 patients with a mean cytosine-adenine-guanine repeat length of 24.3 (21-26, normal <18).

Pathophysiology of bladder dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.

Bladder dysfunction (urinary urgency/frequency) is a common non-motor disorder in Parkinson's disease (PD). In contrast to motor disorders, bladder dysfunction is sometimes non-responsive to levodopa treatment. The brain pathology causing the bladder dysfunction (appearance of overactivity) involves an altered dopamine basal ganglia-frontal circuit, which normally suppresses the micturition reflex.