Swallowing, nutritional status, and salivary flow in patients after head and neck cancer treatment, a pilot study.

Determine the relationship between swallowing function, nutritional status, and salivary flow in patients after head and neck cancer treatment. This pilot study included 17 patients. Swallowing was assessed through videofluoroscopy and surface electromyography (sEMG), nutritional status through anthropometry and dietary assessment, and salivary flow both with and without mechanical stimulation. Test analysis showed that 66.7% of patients had functional limitations in swallowing in 58.3%, 66.7%, and 58.3% residue scale with an average of a line of barium on a structure for pudding, honey, and liquid consistencies, respectively. Laryngeal penetration was found in 8.3% during the swallowing of liquid. Surface electromyography (sEMG) showed above normal values for muscle activity time during the swallowing of pudding. Anthropometric assessment and muscle and adipose tissue indicated eutrophy. Salivary flow test with mechanical stimulus showed that 82.3% of patients' salivary production was well below the appropriate level. There was a significant correlation between muscle tissue reserve and muscle activity time during swallowing in the studied muscles (left masseter p = 0.003, right masseter p = 0.001, suprahyoid p = 0.001, orbicularis oris = 0.020), all in pudding consistency. This pilot study confirmed the relationship between swallowing and nutritional status for its participants, showing that appropriate protein intake influences muscle activity during swallowing in head and neck cancer survivors.

Targeting Chemosensory Ion Channels in Peripheral Swallowing-Related Regions for the Management of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia, or difficulty in swallowing, is a major health problem that can lead to serious complications, such as pulmonary aspiration, malnutrition, dehydration, and pneumonia. The current clinical management of oropharyngeal dysphagia mainly focuses on compensatory strategies and swallowing exercises/maneuvers; however, studies have suggested their limited effectiveness for recovering swallowing physiology and for promoting neuroplasticity in swallowing-related neuronal networks. Several new and innovative strategies based on neurostimulation in peripheral and cortical swallowing-related regions have been investigated, and appear promising for the management of oropharyngeal dysphagia. The peripheral chemical neurostimulation strategy is one of the innovative strategies, and targets chemosensory ion channels expressed in peripheral swallowing-related regions. A considerable number of animal and human studies, including randomized clinical trials in patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia, have reported improvements in the efficacy, safety, and physiology of swallowing using this strategy. There is also evidence that neuroplasticity is promoted in swallowing-related neuronal networks with this strategy. The targeting of chemosensory ion channels in peripheral swallowing-related regions may therefore be a promising pharmacological treatment strategy for the management of oropharyngeal dysphagia. In this review, we focus on this strategy, including its possible neurophysiological and molecular mechanisms.