Schizophrenia And Parkinson Patient. Scan Showed Lacunar Infarcts In The Brain. Should I Be Concerned?

Posted on Tue, 27 Nov 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 Answered on

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : hi doctor, my mother is 68 yrs old, a schizophrenia and parkinson patient. She has not passed motions at all for a week now. There is slight blotting but no abdominal pain as of now. She recently had problem passing urine, i.e. she urinated after 48 hours but after that she has been passing urine regularly. Is there any problem with her? We had recently done her CT scan and she has been detected with lacunar infarcts in bilateral external capsule. Is there anything to worry about in this situation. Is not passing motions for a week XXXXXXX in her case? Please reply. Thank-you

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (26 minutes later)

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query.

1. Lacunar infarcts in the brain mean that there are small areas in brain not receiving adequate blood supply. It is not a serious condition. However, we need to use blood thinners such as aspirin to prevent major blood clots in the brain.

2. Constipation without any other symptoms (such as abdominal pain, vomiting, etc) is not a worrisome condition, however, it needs attention.

You may increase fibres in the diet (such as carrot, cucumber, etc).

Syrup duphalac may be given at bedtime.

If she does pass motions still, then you can take her to a nursing home for enema.

I hope it helps. Please get back if you have any more queries.

Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD DM (Neurology) XXXXXXX Consultant Neurologist
Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir Kumar (29 minutes later)

Thank-you so much for your advise doctor. One more question that I wish to ask you is that she has diabetes along with parkinson and schizophrenia. We keep a check on her glucose levels with a glucose-meter in the house and have found that her levels fluctuate quite often..they range from 120-340. She is sedentary most of the time and always in on-off mode with tremors or hallucinations. She has been under control with Tidomet plus and Quetiapine for nearly 2 years. My question to you is will her stage worsen rapidly with age? she scared us to death in the last week, she was sleeping all the time, not passing urine and now this constipation problem. We are really worried. Could you please guide us on this. Thanks a lot!

Answered by Dr. Sudhir Kumar (9 minutes later)

Hi,

Thank you for getting back with more details.

Blood sugar is known to fluctuate, especially if someone is sedentary, not eating well, or with some infection, etc. It is important to monitor the blood glucose (as you are doing) and manage the medications (with the help with your doctor).

Generally, it is more important to avoid hypoglycemia (low sugar) as it can be detrimental. High sugar, on the other hand, does not cause any immediate damage.

Parkinson's disease does not worsen rapidly. However, it may deteriorate gradually. Currently, she is not looking good because of her other problems, such as those with urine, constipation, etc. Once her general condition improves, she would look better.

Please get back if you have more queries.

Best wishes,
Dr Sudhir Kumar MD (Internal Medicine), DM (Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar