Elthon Gomes Fernandes da Silva

Antropometria e mastigação em crianças asmáticas

OBJETIVOS: caracterizar os padroes da antropometria facial em criancas asmaticas; identificar a presenca de assimetrias faciais em criancas asmaticas e nao asmaticas; e relacionar o lado de predominio mastigatorio com a presenca de assimetria facial em criancas asmaticas e nao asmaticas. METODOS: participaram da pesquisa 60 criancas com idade entre 6 e 10 anos. Destas, 30 possuiam diagnostico em prontuario de asma moderada ou grave e 30 criancas nao apresentavam asma, fazendo parte do grupo controle. Foram realizadas avaliacoes antropometrica facial e da mastigacao dessas criancas. RESULTADOS: em relacao as mensuracoes antropometricas faciais nas criancas asmaticas e nao-asmaticas nao foram reveladas diferencas significativas entre os grupos. No que diz respeito a presenca de assimetrias faciais, observou-se que estas ocorreram no grupo controle, assim como, no grupo asmatico. O padrao mastigatorio predominante em ambos os grupos foi o bilateral simultâneo e quando relacionados a assimetria facial e o predominio mastigatorio, nao foram encontradas associacoes significantes. CONCLUSAO: nao foram encontradas diferencas significativas entre o grupo controle e o grupo asmatico em relacao as mensuracoes antropometricas. A assimetria facial foi observada nos dois grupos avaliados. Em ambos o padrao mastigatorio bilateral simultâneo foi predominante, porem quando realizada a relacao entre assimetria facial e o lado de predominio mastigatorio, nao se observou relacoes significativas.

Electrical Activity of Extrinsic Laryngeal Muscles in Subjects With and Without Dysphonia

OBJECTIVE To compare dysphonic individuals to nondysphonic with regards to electrical activity of extrinsic laryngeal muscles related to perceptual and acoustic vocal parameters. HYPOTHESIS Dysphonic individuals have higher electrical activity in the supra and infrahyoid muscles than those nondysphonic. STUDY DESIGN Prospective, cross-sectional, case series study. METHODS Forty-one subjects, divided into two groups according to the presence of dysphonia, underwent evaluation of surface electromyography, auditory-perceptual, and acoustic evaluations of voice during the vocal rest and sustained emissions of the vowel /ε/ and count of 20 to 30 at usual and strong intensities. RESULTS The dysphonic group differed significantly from the nondysphonic by (1) lower electrical activity normalized by the maximum sustained voluntary activity evaluated in all tasks of phonation in the suprahyoid group; (2) lower recruitment of electrical activity in emissions of strong intensity compared with those of usual intensity in the suprahyoid muscles to emit the vowel /ε/ (13.66 ± 5.17 in dysphonic group and 35.20 ± 7.60 in the nondysphonic group, P = 0.029) and in the infrahyoid muscles in the count of 20 to 30 (14.90 ± 4.69 vs. 42.01 ± 6.15; P < 0.001) and to emit the vowel /ε/ (11.47 ± 6.52 vs. 22.66 ± 9.05, P < 0.001); (3) lower vocal intensity to produce the vowel /ε/ in usual and strong intensities and count in strong intensity. The electrical activities of the maximum sustained voluntary activity were reduced with increasing degree of dysphonia. CONCLUSIONS There was lower electrical activity of the extrinsic laryngeal muscles in dysphonic individuals compared with nondysphonic, and related to the degree of dysphonia.

Electrical activity of the masseter during swallowing after total laryngectomy

UNLABELLED Total laryngectomy is a surgical procedure that can change swallowing biomechanics, including muscle activity of the masseter; this muscle stabilizes the mandible. AIM To characterize the electrical activity of the masseter muscle during swallowing after total laryngectomy. Series study. MATERIAL AND METHODS An electromyographic evaluation of swallowing was carried out; three different volumes of water (14.5 ml, 20 ml and 100 ml) were swallowed, and there was a rest condition. The electromyographic signal was normalized by Maximum Resisted Voluntary Activity - considered as 100% of electrical activity of muscles. All other values were calculated as a percentage of this parameter. RESULTS There is moderate electrical activity of the masseter during swallowing with higher averages on the left. There was no difference between swallowing 14.5 ml or 20 ml. Natural swallowing of 100ml had the lowest average. Electromyographic signals were recorded at rest on both sides, indicating the existence of electric activity in this situation. CONCLUSION Patients submitted to total laryngectomy present electrical activity of the masseter muscles during swallowing and at rest. This activity is influenced by the volume of swallowed liquid, and showed significant differences among the tasks. Clinical Trials: NCT01095289.

Preferência de lado mastigatório e simetria facial em laringectomizados totais: estudo clínico e eletromiográfico

PURPOSE: to observe whether a relationship exists between the preference of chewing side, facial anthropometry and electrical activity of masseter muscle in total laryngectomy. METHODS: data collection, performed in the Speech Therapy Cancer Hospital of Pernambuco (HCP), with the participation of fifteen volunteers laryngectomized males and mean age of 64 years. We performed measurement of distances between points and anthropometric facial ex ch in hemifaces of volunteers and later executed EMG of the masseter muscles, bilaterally, in his habitual intercuspal (MHI), unilateral right and left chewing and during mastication. Filming took place during mastication to identify the side of the preference side. RESULTS: individuals whose right side is the masticatory predominance showed of the left side of the face to a greater extent (72.37 mm), while those whose prevalence of side left masticatory had higher estensao the side right (68.85 mm). In unilateral chewing right the electrical activity of the right masseter had an average 123.57% , while the left masseter showed an average 84.85% of the activity in relation to MHI (p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: in laryngectomized anthropometric facial measurements correlate with the preference side chewing and the values of the masseter EMG during mastication.

Analysis of the masticatory process of asthmatic children: Clinical and electromyographic research

Summary Introduction: The prevalence of asthma has grown considerably in recent decades, but some studies have shown stabilization of this trend. The masticatory process of asthmatic children may be altered due to asthma-related anatomo-functional changes. Objective: The study objective was to determine the clinical and electromyographic characteristics of the masticatory process in asthmatic children and compare the electrical activities of their masseter and anterior temporal muscles (at rest and during maximal voluntary contraction and mastication) with those of non-asthmatic children. Method: Case study. Asthmatic and non-asthmatic groups, each consisting of 30 children of both sexes between 6 and 10 years of age, were evaluated. Mastication was evaluated clinically and electromyographically in all subjects. RESULTS: The masticatory process did not differ significantly between asthmatic and non-asthmatic children. Conclusion: Although the masticatory process did not differ significantly between asthmatic and non-asthmatic children, the masticatory process of asthmatic children may be altered because of anatomical changes of Asthma.INTRODUCTION: Old age is associated with changes in the characteristics of the middle ear transmission system and in external ear resonance, and these carry implications for the hearing aid (HA) verification process for which targets and measures of the real ear insertion gain (REIG) are used. AIM: To compare the real ear unaided gain (REUG) and the equivalent volumes of the external ear (VeqEE) and the middle ear (VeqME) between elderly and adult patients. METHODS: This is a retrospective study in which the medical records of 28 elderly patients (aged between 61 and 102 years, average hearing thresholds between 38.75 and 85 dB HL) and 23 adult patients (aged 20-59, mean hearing thresholds between 31.25 and 116.25 dB HL) with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and no history of middle ear abnormalities were analyzed. Immittance measurements (VeqEE, VeqME, and pressure of the peak of maximum compliance) and the REUG (frequency and amplitude of the primary peak) were recovered for a total of 40 ears. These data were compared between elderly and adults as well as between men and women, using Students t test. Correlations (Pearson) between immittance and REUG data were also verified. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) were found for immittance and REUG data between elderly and adults, or between men and women. A negative and weak but significant correlation was observed between the REUG primary peak and VeqEE. CONCLUSION: Hearing aid verification can be performed with target and measures of the REIG in the elderly population.

Aeração nasal em crianças asmáticas

OBJETIVO: identificar a presenca de sinais de alteracoes na expiracao de criancas asmaticas. METODO: este estudo foi realizado com 30 criancas com idades entre 6 e 10 anos de ambos os sexos com diagnostico clinico de asma confirmado pelo prontuario medico e 30 criancas nao asmaticas tambem de ambos os sexos na mesma faixa etaria. Foi avaliada a aeracao nasal com o espelho milimetrado de Altmann, sendo mensurado o escape de ar nasal objetivando a verificacao da saida uni ou bilateral do ar e a relacao de simetria entre a narina direita e a esquerda. As imagens foram importadas para o computador por meio do scanner HP da serie Scanjet 2400. A analise foi realizada no software Scion Image for Windows (Alpha 4.0.3.2). Para analise das variaveis quantitativas entre grupos foi aplicado o teste t-student e para a analise intragrupos foi aplicado o teste t-Student pareado.Todas as conclusoes foram tomadas ao nivel de significância de 5%, sendo usados o Excel 2000 e o SPSS v8.0, para as analises. RESULTADOS: nao foram encontradas diferencas estatisticamente significantes entre as criancas asmaticas e nao-asmaticas, acerca das mensuracoes quanto a area total e quanto as areas das narinas direita e esquerda. CONCLUSAO: nao foi identificada a presenca de sinais de alteracoes na expiracao de criancas asmaticas, desta forma, faz-se necessario um estudo mais especifico das funcoes nasal e pulmonar.

Study of sensory-motor and somatic development of the offspring of rats (Wistar) treated with caffeine

The influence of caffeine, administered to rats, on the somatic and sensory-motor development of the offspring was investigated. Female Wistar rats were divided into a control group and a treated group and received drinking water and a 0.1% solution of caffeine orally, respectively. The offspring, also divided into a control group and a treated group, received daily monitoring until the 20th day of life to verify alterations in somatic neural development. The offspring of the treated group had reduced weight on the day of birth and on the 1st, 5th, 15th and 20th days of life; shorter snout-anus length (evaluation done daily); shorter snout-tail length on the day of birth and on the 1st, 5th and 10th days of life, and signs of retardation of somatic and sensory-motor maturation. These results allowed the conclusion that administration of caffeine to rats affects somatic and sensory-motor development of offspring.