Stephanie Kays

The Effects of Lingual Exercise on Swallowing in Older Adults

Objectives: To determine the effects of an 8‐week progressive lingual resistance exercise program on swallowing in older individuals, the most “at risk” group for dysphagia.

Early deficits in cortical control of swallowing in Alzheimer’s disease

The goal of this study was to determine whether functional changes in cortical control of swallowing are evident in early Alzheimers disease (AD), before dysphagia (swallowing impairment) is evident. Cortical function was compared between an early AD group and a group of age-matched controls during swallowing. Swallowing oropharyngeal biomechanics examined from videofluoroscopic recordings were also obtained to more comprehensively characterize changes in swallowing associated with early AD. Our neuroimaging results show that the AD group had significantly lower Blood-Oxygen-Level-Dependent (BOLD) response in many cortical areas that are traditionally involved in normal swallowing (i.e., pre and postcentral gyri, Rolandic and frontal opercula). There were no regions where the AD group showed more brain activity than the healthy controls during swallowing, and only 13% of all active voxels were unique to the AD group, even at this early stage. This suggests that the AD group is not recruiting new regions, nor are they compensating within regions that are active during swallowing. In videofluoroscopic measures, the AD group had significantly reduced hyo-laryngeal elevation than the controls. Although, swallowing impairment is usually noted in the late stages of AD, changes in cortical control of swallowing may begin long before dysphagia becomes apparent.

Simultaneous estimation of tongue volume and fat fraction using IDEAL-FSE.

To determine whether high‐resolution, high signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) images of the tongue acquired with IDEAL‐FSE (iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least squares estimation) will provide comparable volumetric measures to conventional nonfat‐suppressed FSE imaging and to determine the feasibility of estimating the proportion of lingual fat in adults using IDEAL‐FSE imaging.

Esophageal Clearance Patterns in Normal Older Adults as Documented with Videofluoroscopic Esophagram

Normal esophageal bolus transport in asymptomatic healthy older adults has not been well defined, potentially leading to ambiguity in differentiating esophageal swallowing patterns of dysphagic and healthy individuals. This pilot study of 24 young (45–64 years) and old (65+years) men and women was designed to assess radiographic esophageal bolus movement patterns in healthy adults using videofluoroscopic recording. Healthy, asymptomatic adults underwent videofluoroscopic esophagram to evaluate for the presence of ineffective esophageal clearance, namely, intraesophageal stasis and intraesophageal reflux. Intraesophageal stasis and intraesophageal reflux were visualized radiographically in these normal subjects. Intraesophageal stasis occurred significantly more frequently with semisolid (96%) compared with liquid (16%) barium, suggesting that a variety of barium consistencies, as opposed to only the traditional fluids, would better define the spectrum of esophageal transport. Intraesophageal reflux was observed more frequently in older males than in their younger counterparts. The rates of intraesophageal stasis and intraesophageal reflux were potentially high given that successive bolus presentations were spaced 10 seconds apart. These findings suggest a need for a more comprehensive definition regarding the range of normal esophageal bolus transport to (a) prevent misdiagnosis of dysphagia and (b) to enhance generalization to functional eating, which involves solid foods in addition to liquids.

Team Management of Dysphagia in the Institutional Setting

Abstract The capacity to swallow effectively and safely is a basic human need, yet nearly 40% of Americans over age 60 experience dysphagia. Since the resources in acute-care hospitals often are unavailable in institutional settings, the daily involvement of nursing and the dietitians screening and continuous assessment are critical to timely, effective dysphagia identification, referral, and management. Upon referral, the speech pathologist executes comprehensive evaluation, leading the design and implementation of a team treatment plan. Literature highlighting a sample of dysphagia screening tools and interventions, care transitions and aspiration prevention strategies is reviewed herein to guide current practice and future research.