We are currently analyzing the swallowing data from a group of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy who were given denepezil to control neurological symptoms. We designed a study using both ultrasound and videofluorography to examine drug effects on swallowing. Patients were seen for baseline and three followup evaluations where ultrasound and videofluorographic swallowing studies were administered along with complete oral motor function examinations. Data on swallowing performance on patients with corticobasal degeneration and apraxia of swallowing are still being analyzed. We completed a study to determine the kinematic strategies that are used during randomized discrete and sequential swallows on 30 subjects age 20 to 79 years. Significant differences were revealed for these two tasks relative to age, gender and movement of the hyoid bone in support of a theory of motor performance that suggests that the deglutitive motor system is more flexible than previously known. We have completed a study of 10 patient evaluating the effects of pallidotomy on swallowing and did not find any significant trends for this procedure on swallowing performance.
| Sonies, B C (2000) Patterns of care for dysphagic patients with degenerative neurological diseases. Semin Speech Lang 21:333-44; quiz 334-5 |
| Frattali, C M; Sonies, B C (2000) Speech and swallowing disturbances in corticobasal degeneration. Adv Neurol 82:153-60 |
| Chi-Fishman, G; Sonies, B C (2000) Motor strategy in rapid sequential swallowing: new insights. J Speech Lang Hear Res 43:1481-92 |
