UC trial tests tongue exercises to improve swallowing function after stroke
Source: www.uc.edu Author: Tim Tedeschi Up to three-quarters of all stroke survivors have some form of difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) after a stroke. Dysphagia frequently leads to entry of food or liquid into the lungs and has significant impacts on patients’ overall health and quality of life. In the most severe cases, patients are no longer able to eat or drink at all or can die from aspiration pneumonia. Because eating and drinking are pivotal to participating in life socially, dysphagia can also lead to depression. A new trial at the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute, funded by a $660,000 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant, will test an at-home tongue endurance exercise to improve patients’ swallowing function. Research background Speech language pathologist and trial principal investigator Brittany Krekeler, PhD, said swallowing issues can sometimes be a “hidden” disorder, because it is usually secondary to other diseases. “You hurt for these patients when they can’t enjoy eating and drinking, and swallowing disorders can be a burden on family members as well,” said Krekeler, assistant professor and clinician-scientist at the UC College of Medicine’s Dysphagia Rehabilitation Laboratory. “From working with these patients clinically, we see how much it means for patients to be able to eat and drink again.” Krekeler said research into improving swallowing function is relatively new, as historically the problem was addressed by giving feeding tubes to patients with post-stroke dysphagia. But feeding tubes can fall out, can get infected and prevent patients from being able to enjoy [...]