Active clinical trials for "Deglutition Disorders"

The Purpose of the GF Strong water protocol is to allow clients who have thin liquid dysphagia to drink water under certain specified conditions according to the rules of the water protocol. Water Protocols have been shown to improve client satisfaction, and hydration. We wish to assess this in a randomized, controlled fashion, and this is a pilot project to determine feasibility.

This project proposes to evaluate the relative effectiveness of four therapy protocols for pharyngeal phase swallowing impairment in the stroke population. Data derived from this study should contribute significantly to our understanding of the rehabilitative process in the neurogenic dysphagic population and will provide the foundation for the establishment of efficacious, cost-efficient patient services. 1. Research Question to be addressed The utilization of SEMG biofeedback monitoring in dysphagia rehabilitation facilitates more rapid and complete recovery than traditional rehabilitation using the same swallowing exercises without exteroceptive feedback. Swallowing rehabilitation provided in an intensive rehabilitative programme (10 hrs of treatment in the 1st week) facilitates more rapid and complete recovery than traditionally scheduled swallowing rehabilitation (twice weekly).

This study will compare an implant with the technique of sensory training to determine which method may improve the ability to swallow and reduce the risk of choking. Many people with a brain injury or neurological disorders experience difficulty in swallowing. Past studies have shown that an electrical pulse applied to muscles or an increase in sensory stimulation to the throat can help. Patients ages 18 to 90 who have had a brain injury or neurological disorder and who have had trouble swallowing for 6 months or longer may be eligible for this study. Patients will undergo a physical examination, pregnancy test, and exam by a throat and speech physician. Fiber-optic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing with sensory testing involves a flexible tube passed through the nose to the back of the throat to allow observation of the voice box. Videofluoroscopy, an X-ray of the head and neck, will be done while patients swallow. Patients experiencing trouble with the upper esophagus may undergo additional procedures, including manometry to measure pressure changes in the back of the throat, and reevaluation through the fiber-optic tube. Patients in this study will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, which uses a strong magnetic field to obtain images of the body. Patients will lie on a table that slides into the enclosed tunnel of the scanner. The scan will take 20 to 25 minutes. Patients will be assigned randomly to one of two groups: the intramuscular group, to have a stimulation device implanted in the neck, and the vibrotactile group, to receive a vibrotactile stimulator. All patients will have 10 training sessions with their devices, plus follow-up. Those patients in the first group will undergo surgery, under general anesthesia, for the implant. Three weeks following the implant procedure, patients will come to NIH to have the stimulator turned on and programmed and to learn how to use the device. Those patients in the second group will have about 2 to 3 weeks of training in using a vibrotactile device, and then they will take it home to use. All patients will return to NIH at 3 months to ensure proper use of the devices, and they will visit for follow-up at 6 months and 12 months for tests and questionnaires. ...

The aim of this research study is to determine the effectiveness of: 1) a traditional therapy regimen focusing on individual exercises for pharyngeal (throat) and laryngeal (voice box) musculature and 2) a new therapeutic exercise, the Shaker exercise. The primary objective of this 5-year project is to identify which of two therapy programs, the Shaker exercise versus traditional therapy, results in the largest number of stable, non-oral dysphagic patients who can swallow safely and return to full oral feeding after 6 weeks of intervention. The study is powered adequately so that this aim can be tested separately for head and neck cancer and stroke patients. Our primary outcome measure is return to oral feeding, i.e., 100% of nutrition and hydration by mouth.

Dysphagia is associated with high rates of mortality and morbidity. Adjusting the oral diet of ICU-patients based on flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) findings might reduce pneumonia rate, mortality and need for intubation/tracheotomy.

This study will investigate the feasibility of delivering swallowing therapy using surface electromyography as a means of biofeedback to patients with dysphagia in the acute stroke setting. It will investigate trends in efficacy by comparing biofeedback therapy to usual care. The results will inform future dosing and efficacy studies.

This study is a pilot study to prepare clinical trials to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of 4-channel electric stimulation therapy devices as a newly developed function for the treatment of dysphagia disorders. The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference in 4ch NMES and 2ch NMES, And to obtain the values such as mean, standard deviation and so on, and to determine the number of subjects to be studied for clinical trials of validation permission in the future.

The study procedure of simultaneous VFSS and DDS measurement will be completed in one day and the subject will be followed within 2 business days after the study procedure to monitor for adverse events.

This is a randomized, sham-controlled, patient masked, outcome assessor-blinded study to assess a Pharyngeal Electrical Stimulation (PES) Catheter for treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia following a stroke.

The inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of sonography. To explore that sonography is a clinically practical tool for assessing the changes of oropharyngeal muscles mass. The Comparisons the differences in clinical swallowing function, general muscle mass, and muscle strength/ sonographic findings of oropharyngeal muscles among the stroke patients with dysphagia in different swallowing training programs. To investigate the associations among clinical swallowing function, general muscle mass, muscle strength and sonographic findings of oropharyngeal muscles in stroke patients with dysphagia. The changes of clinical swallowing function, and muscle strength of oropharyngeal muscles in stroke patients with dysphagia after different swallowing training programs. The changes in sonographic findings of oropharyngeal muscles in stroke patients with dysphagia after different swallowing training programs. Effect of different swallowing therapies in clinical swallowing function, general muscle mass, and muscle strength/ sonographic findings of oropharyngeal muscles in stroke patients with dysphagia. The associations between clinical swallowing function, oropharyngeal muscle strength, and sonographic findings of oropharyngeal muscles in stroke patients with dysphagia.