0000000000740229
AUTHOR
Elena Alvisi
Electrophysiological Investigations of Shape and Reproducibility of Oropharyngeal Swallowing: Interaction with Bolus Volume and Age
Electrophysiological assessment provides valuable information on physiological and pathophysiological characteristics of human swallowing. Here, new electrophysiological measures for the evaluation of oropharyngeal swallowing were assessed: (1) the activation pattern of the submental/suprahyoid EMG activity (SHEMG); (2) the reproducibility of the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing, by calculating the similarity index (SI) of the SHEMG (SI-SHEMG) and of the laryngeal-pharyngeal mechanogram (SI-LPM) during repeated swallows; and (3) kinesiological measures related to the LPM. An electrophysiological-mechanical method for measuring the activation pattern of the SHEMG, the SI-SHEMG, and t…
Specific patterns of laryngeal electromyography during wakefulness are associated to sleep disordered breathing and nocturnal stridor in multiple system atrophy.
Abstract Background Nocturnal stridor and respiratory abnormalities are important features of multiple system atrophy (MSA) with relevance to patient survival, and they are detected and evaluated mainly through video-polysomnography (video-PSG). Diurnal laryngoscopy seems to yield abnormal findings only in the presence of significant vocal cord (VC) dysfunction. Aim To assess whether specific electrophysiological patterns of diurnal EMG of VC muscles may indicate nocturnal stridor or respiratory dysfunctions in MSA patients. Materials and methods Seventeen patients with probable MSA were examined. A full-night video-PSG to collect standard breathing parameters (apnea/hypopnea index, mean Hb…
The importance of the reproducibility of oropharyngeal swallowing in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. An electrophysiological study
Abstract Objective To investigate electrophysiologically the reproducibility of oropharyngeal swallowing in patients with ALS. Methods We enrolled 26 ALS patients, both with and without clinical signs of dysphagia, and 30 age-matched controls. The reproducibility of the electrophysiological signals related to the oral phase (electromyographic activity of the submental/suprahyoid muscles) and the pharyngeal phase (laryngeal-pharyngeal mechanogram) of swallowing across repeated swallows was assessed. To do this we computed two similarity indexes (SI) by using previously described mathematical algorithms. Results The reproducibility of oropharyngeal swallowing was significantly reduced both in…