Aspiration pneumonia (APn) occurs at a higher rate in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD)
versus healthy adults. This is of particular public health concern given that death secondary
to aspiration pneumonia and lung infection is a leading cause of death in persons with PD.
Swallowing and cough function are affected in PD, putting people with PD at significant risk
for uncompensated aspiration (aspiration without adequate cough response). One challenge in
the management of airway protective deficits related to PD is the chronic and progressive
nature of the disease, where swallowing dysfunction appears subtly in the form of
microaspiration, reducing the perceived urgency of the swallowing disorder by both clinicians
and patients. The long-term goal of this research is to advance the management of airway
protection deficits in patients with neurodegenerative disease in order to decrease morbidity
and mortality due to aspiration related lung infection. The objective here is to further
specify deficits leading to uncompensated airway compromise in PD in order to advance the
clinical management of these patients, leading to an immediate positive impact.
Phase:
Phase 1
Details
Lead Sponsor:
University of Florida
Collaborators:
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) National Institutes of Health (NIH)