Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Primer for the Practicing Clinician

• Published in: Medical principles and practice Vol. 30; no. 6; pp. 501 - 507
• Main Authors: Falsetti, Lorenzo, Viticchi, Giovanna, Zaccone, Vincenzo, Tarquinio, Nicola, Nobili, Lorenzo, Nitti, Cinzia, Salvi, Aldo, Moroncini, Gianluca, Silvestrini, Mauro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Alzheimer Disease; Alzheimer's disease; Asthma; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Cognitive ability; Dysphagia; Dyspnea; Granulomas; Humans; Hypotheses; Lung cancer; Lung diseases; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Ostomy; Parkinson Disease; Parkinson's disease; Pathology; Pneumonia; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory failure; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Review; Risk factors; Sleep disorders; Smoking; Swallowing; Neurologic diseases; Alzheimer’s disease; Respiratory diseases; Parkinson’s disease
• ISSN: 1011-7571; 1423-0151; 1423-0151
• DOI: 10.1159/000518261

Chronic respiratory disorders represent a world epidemic. Their incidence and prevalence in the world population is increasing, and especially among elderly subjects, they are commonly associated with other pathologies, often generating a status of high clinical complexity. Neurology, internal medicine, and pneumology specialists should be aware of the common background of these disorders in order to treat correctly the patient’s comorbid state and optimize the treatment considering potential overlaps. In this review, we aimed to focus on the relationships between chronic respiratory disorders and chronic neurodegenerative diseases at different levels; we review the shared risk factors and the interactions between disorders, the indications to explore respiratory function in neurodegenerative diseases, pathology-pathology and drug-pathology interactions in patients affected by both chronic neurologic and respiratory diseases.