Article

Our goal was to study deglutition of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and normal
controls (NC) using surface electromyography (sEMG). The study included 15
patients with idiopathic PD and 15 age-matched normal controls. Surface
electromyography was collected over the suprahyoid muscle group. Conditions were
the following: swallow at once 10 and 20 ml of water and 5 and 10 ml of yogurt of
firm consistency, and freely drink 100 ml of water. During swallowing, durations
of sEMG were significantly longer in PD patients than in normal controls but no
significant differences of amplitudes were found. Eighty percent of the PD
patients and 20 % of the NC needed more than one swallow to consume 20 ml of
water, while 70 % of the PD patients and none of the NC needed more than one
swallow to consume 5 ml of yogurt. PD patients took significantly more time and
needed significantly more swallows to drink 100 ml of water than normal controls.
We conclude that sEMG might be a simple and useful tool to study and monitor
deglutition in PD patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS