Active clinical trials for "Deglutition Disorders"

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of taste on swallowing efficiency, to evaluate the effect of temperature on swallowing efficiency, and to evaluate the effect of viscosity on swallowing efficiency.

The research is about a prospective study conducted in patients suffering from dysphagia and cervical spine disorders and how they are interrelated. Three questionnaires have been given to patients with neurologic deficits, the first of these investigates the occurence of dysphagia in the three stages of swallowing, the second looks into the quality of life following a stroke or other neurologic damage and the third analyses how cervical spine disorders can affect every day life. After the bedside examination, VFSS or FEES, the patients are submitted to swallowing and cervical resistance exercises in fixed time periods after their hospitalisation. The results will be collected and evaluated using the statistical programme SPSS.

Electropalatography (EPG), a noninvasive device that provides specific visual output on tongue-palate contact, has well-established usefulness as a biofeedback tool in speech therapy. While EPG has also been shown to be capable of revealing the details of linguopalatal interactions during swallowing, its applicability in swallowing therapy has not been evaluated to date. This study will determine if EPG can facilitate bolus propulsion in patients presenting with swallowing problems of the oral phase. Seven patients with oral dysphagia will be selected to serve as subjects based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, and each will be custom-fitted with a pseudo-palate. Each patient will undergo four 45-minute sessions of biofeedback training with emphasis on developing systematic front-to-back anchoring of the tongue against the palate during propulsion of liquid and semisolid boluses. Ultrasound imaging will be used to determine swallow durations and identify oral deficits of swallowing before the EPG biofeedback training, and to identify any changes that may result from the training. Quantitative measurements will also be made of the swallow-related EPG contact timing and pattern before and after training and compared for each individual subject as a function of training and bolus volume. Appropriate statistical analyses will be conducted.

Dysphagia in hospitalized elders is associated with less positive outcomes in rehabilitation, increased likelihood of readmission, increased comorbidity and mortality, and increased length of hospital stay. In light of an increase in the elderly population in Denmark, the consequences of dysphagia, and the importance of minimizing the risk of disability and frailty, it is vital to emphasize safe participation of the elderly dysphagic patient in eating, drinking and swallowing. Danish occupational therapists have an important role in the dysphagia management, but no Danish evidence-based occupational therapy assessments for dysphagia of elderly medical patients exist. In order to oblige this lack, the objective of the study is to provide an assessment tool with operational definitions of dysphagia which includes the complexity of performance in eating, drinking and swallowing, is evidence-based, and guides occupational therapists in the treatment planning in a client-centred and purposeful manner. The study involves a quantitative approach, and is initiated by a translation and cultural adaptation of the Canadian "The McGill Ingestive Skills Assessment" (MISA). Hereafter, the psychometric qualities are tested. On basis of the data collected for the psychometrics, the prevalence and characteristics of dysphagia in the study population are investigated. Provided that the psychometric testing of the MISA reveals satisfactory levels, the effect of using the MISA in the treatment planning is investigated. It is hypothesized that: The Danish translation of the MISA will demonstrates satisfactory content validity, reliabilities, convergent validity, known-groups validity, predictive validity, criterion validity, high levels of sensitivity/specificity and are responsive to change. Dysphagia is prevalent in elderly medical patients at the time of admission to acute medical care and there can be found a correlation between dysphagia severity and the presence of comorbidity, disability, frailty, the length of hospital stay, the place of discharge and the number of readmissions for elderly medical patients.

The purpose of this project is to determine if pre-treatment swallowing exercises can improve post-treatment swallowing function in patients undergoing radiation with or without chemotherapy for advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

This is a research study to learn more about whether capsaicin, a natural ingredient of chili peppers that makes them taste "hot", can improve swallowing function. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether sucking on a capsaicin lozenge improves sensation in the throat enough to improve swallowing function.

The aim of this observational study is to investigate the effects of the type, area and duration of ulceration on jaw pain, mandibular function limitation, TMD and swallowing in individuals with diabetic foot ulcers.The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the change in foot structure due to diabetic foot ulcer have an effect on the temporomandibular jointand swalloving? What are the determinants of tempomandibular dysfunction in individuals with diabetic foot ulcers? Participants (both groups) will be evaluated for quality of life, jaw functionality, mandibular dysfunction, oropharyngeal swallowing disorder, pain and diabetes complications.

The esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy is an endoscopic examination technique of the upper GI-tract which was founded by the German surgeon Johann Freiherr von Mikuliicz-Radecki at the end of 19th century. By this means, the luminal site of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum may be visualized after inserting a flexible endoscope through the mouth (transoral access). By the rapid technical development in the last years smaller flexible video endoscopes have been developed allowing also an alternative access to the upper GI-tract via the nose (transnasal access). Patients with dysphagia are referred to physicians of different disciplines (gastroenterology, surgery, ear, nose, and throat (ENT) medicine, radiology, neurology) performing a variety of endoscopic and non-endoscopic techniques. Mostly, the endoscopic examination of the esophagus is done in sedated patients in left lateral examination. Typical findings during esophagoscopy might be tumors, strictures, achalasia or diverticula. Patients suffering from neurogenic dysphagia often get caught in the trap: they find themselves somewhere in the space between gastroenterologist, neurologist, ENT-specialist and radiologist. This dilemma might be due to a lack of pathophysiological knowledge among many physicians and an inability to directly visualize the esophageal phase of deglutition. In sedated patients lying in left lateral position, endoscopists may receive a very limited impression of the function of the different phases of swallowing since this endoscopic access is a rather static one. The focus of our observational study are patients with suspected neurogenic dysphagia. These patients shall be examined by transnasal endoscopy applying an ultrathin video endoscope with an outer diameter of 3.8 mm (BF-3C160, Olympus Europe). Patients are examined in sitting position while ingesting water and food of different consistencies (functional endoscopy). Diagnostic shall be completed and correlated by videofluoroscopy, high-resolution manometry and assessment of the clinical signs. Beside feasibility and safety as primary endpoints, secondary endpoints shall be the assessment of pathologic endoscopic findings in patients suffering from neurogenic dysphagia. The study is approved by the local Ethics Committee (AZ 2010-214-f-S).

Swallowing is a complex phenomenon that allows oral feeding while protecting the airway. It involves many brain areas, including primary motor and sensory areas. Its dysfunction, called oropharyngeal dysphagia is present in approximately 60% of patients with a stroke. In this case, it is conventionally translated by a swallow response time delay of the swallowing reflex. Pathophysiology of dysphagia is explained by impairment of the dominant swallowing, function that representation center is bi-hemispheric but asymmetric (Hamdy, 1997). Half of patients with a stroke supra-tentoriel with oropharyngeal dysphagia (about 55 % of strokes) regain normal swallowing in a few weeks ( Barer, 1989). Mechanisms that determine the recovery appear to be related to a reorganization of the motor cortex intact. Patients who retain disorders are those who have not cortical reorganization. With this in mind a team used different methods known to modulate brain plasticity, which electrotherapy with an application endo- pharyngeal sensory threshold. This stimulation increases the excitability of the cortico- bulbar reflex, which improves swallowing function in the clinical application. The hypothesis of this work is that the transcutaneous electrical stimulation applied submental, noninvasive technique, would also have an impact on cortical plasticity may explain the improved coordination of swallowing observed in earlier studies (Verin , 2011) ( Gallas , 2010).

This study will investigate whether silent aspiration during swallowing can reliably be detected using acoustic signal processing plus pulse oximetry.