EAN 2022 | Managing the vital 5 of Parkinson’s disease

K. Ray-Chaudhuri, MD, DSc, FRCP, FEAN, King’s College London, London, UK, discusses the management of the vital 5 in Parkinson’s disease (PD) care. Modern Parkinson’s disease care should be personalized and holistic; the vital 5 include aspects important to patients’ life related to PD: motor function, bone health, vision, gut, and comorbidities. Bone health should be addressed as osteoporosis is common in PD patients and can lead to increased hospitalization rates due to falls. Similarly, vision issues, present in PD patients since the early stages of the disease, can lead to falls and accidents. Comorbidities and medications have implications regarding the disease course and should be considered. The gut is emerging as an important modulator of PD involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Therefore, it is critical to manage sialorrhea, swallowing issues, and gut microbiota abnormalities. Managing the vital 5 ensures the motor symptoms are being treated but, most notably, that the patient is treated as a whole. This interview took place at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) 2022 Congress in Vienna, Austria.