A third of people with Parkinson's Disease have been found to experience dysphagia. Dysphagia is difficulty with swallowing. This can cause eating and drinking problems, and more seriously causes choking, which can be fatal. For more information go to Dysphagia. The reason why dysphagia is so common in Parkinson's Disease is that the insufficient dopamine in Parkinson's Disease can affect all muscles, including those needed for swallowing, of which there are many. In Parkinson's Disease dysphagia has been found to be unrelated to age, gender or duration of Parkinson's Disease. However, dysphagia is very common in those people with sever motor skills. Although Parkinson's Disease underlies the problem in many cases, there are practical means of dealing with dysphagia. The recently published "Swallow Safely", which is "A caregiver's guide to recognition, treatment, and prevention" deals with the problem, particularly as it relates to Parkinson's Disease. Click here for more details. There is also the "Dysphagia Cookbook", specifically for people with dysphagia. Click here for more details. For more current news go to Parkinson's Disease News.