Prevention of pneumonia in the elderly

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Pneumonia in the elderly is caused by an in apparent swallowing disorder. Most suffer silent aspiration, which eventually causes pneumonia. This is due to t lack in substance P, which transmits in an antidromic way through the sensory branches, such as vagal and glossopharyngeal nerves, and deeps swallowing and cough reflex functioning. The synthesis of substance P is stimulated by dopamine that is released from the deep cortex in the cerebrum. When there is a shortage of dopamine, widely used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease as it induced the synthesis of dopamine. A clinical trial of amantadine administration for three years showed that the incidence rate of pneumonia decreased to about 20% compared with the control group. Substance P is increased by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors). Conventional drugs can be used and are available by prescription. The use of such drugs separately or in combination enables prevention of pneumonia to a considerable degree.