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Study of Tongue Pressures

NCT00013832 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 160

Last updated 2017-07-02

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study will examine tongue strength and endurance, how the tongue applies pressure during swallowing, and how the chin muscles react during swallowing in healthy volunteers and in patients with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing). The information from this study may be helpful in developing better treatments for people with swallowing problems.

Healthy volunteers who have no history of speech, swallowing or breathing problems and patients who have difficulty swallowing because of a neurologic disorder, musculoskeletal disease or head and neck cancer that caused tongue weakness and dysphagia may be eligible for this study. Such medical conditions may include stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, Gaucher's disease, leukodystrophy, cerebral palsy, myositis, or mouth, throat or neck cancer. Volunteers who have not participated in a NIH protocol for 1 year will be screened with a brief medical history and physical examination. Dysphagic patients not currently enrolled in a NIH protocol will also have a brief medical history and physical examination. In addition, they will have a modified barium swallow to determine the nature and degree of their swallowing difficulty.

Participants will have a 15-minute examination of movements of their tongue, lips and jaw and will fill out a questionnaire about their swallowing ability. They will then begin the tongue pressure test. To monitor and record tongue pressure, a thin rubber strip with air-filled pressure bulbs will be attached to the roof of the mouth with dental adhesive. The pressure bulbs are connected to an external pressure-reading device. In addition, a small plastic pad with adhesive backing will be placed under the chin. Electrodes (wires) attached to the pad record chin muscle activities.

With the pressure bulbs and chin electrodes in place, the patient will perform tongue pressure tasks to test tongue strength, how long the patient can maintain a certain tongue pressure, and how fast tongue pressure drops. The tasks include saliva swallows, water swallows and cup-drinking.

Conditions

  • Deglutition Disorder
  • Healthy

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)

    lead NIH

Eligibility

Min Age
21 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2001-03-28
Completion
2007-04-11

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00013832 on ClinicalTrials.gov