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Swallowing in hereditary sensory ataxia

Nilsson, Håkan ; Ekberg, Olle LU ; Olsson, Rolf LU and Hindfelt, Bengt (1996) In Dysphagia 11(2). p.140-143
Abstract
The oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal stages of swallowing were evaluated in 8 patients with recessively or dominantly inherited pure sensory ataxia. Six patients had swallowing difficulties: solid bolus obstruction, coughs during eating, and choking episodes. One patient had chronic bronchitis and another had recurrent pneumonia. The patients underwent a biphasic radiological barium swallow, including videofluoroscopy. No patient had a completely normal swallow. All had normal oral function, whereas pharyngeal function was abnormal in 6 patients. Esophageal function was abnormal in 6 patients. The swallowing dysfunction did not correlate with the severity of motor or sensory dysfunction in the limbs, nor with age or duration of ataxia. Our... (More)
The oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal stages of swallowing were evaluated in 8 patients with recessively or dominantly inherited pure sensory ataxia. Six patients had swallowing difficulties: solid bolus obstruction, coughs during eating, and choking episodes. One patient had chronic bronchitis and another had recurrent pneumonia. The patients underwent a biphasic radiological barium swallow, including videofluoroscopy. No patient had a completely normal swallow. All had normal oral function, whereas pharyngeal function was abnormal in 6 patients. Esophageal function was abnormal in 6 patients. The swallowing dysfunction did not correlate with the severity of motor or sensory dysfunction in the limbs, nor with age or duration of ataxia. Our study shows that swallowing dysfunction is common in hereditary sensory ataxia. This dysfunction is likely to be due to involvement of the nucleus of the solitary tract in the brainstem. Despite some of the patients having suffered from choking episodes and others from bronchopulmonary complications, they did not spontaneously admit dysphagia. Swallowing should be evaluated thoroughly in patients with hereditary sensory ataxia since dysphagia in these patients might bring serious and potentially fatal complications. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Friedreich's disease, Sensory ataxia, Deglutition, Deglutition disorders, Diagnosis, Pharyngeal function, Esophageal function
in
Dysphagia
volume
11
issue
2
pages
140 - 143
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • pmid:8721073
  • scopus:0029963960
ISSN
1432-0460
DOI
10.1007/BF00417904
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e661ecb8-e8f6-436b-832a-554252d9639c (old id 1110381)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:33:43
date last changed
2022-01-27 06:49:33
@article{e661ecb8-e8f6-436b-832a-554252d9639c,
  abstract     = {{The oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal stages of swallowing were evaluated in 8 patients with recessively or dominantly inherited pure sensory ataxia. Six patients had swallowing difficulties: solid bolus obstruction, coughs during eating, and choking episodes. One patient had chronic bronchitis and another had recurrent pneumonia. The patients underwent a biphasic radiological barium swallow, including videofluoroscopy. No patient had a completely normal swallow. All had normal oral function, whereas pharyngeal function was abnormal in 6 patients. Esophageal function was abnormal in 6 patients. The swallowing dysfunction did not correlate with the severity of motor or sensory dysfunction in the limbs, nor with age or duration of ataxia. Our study shows that swallowing dysfunction is common in hereditary sensory ataxia. This dysfunction is likely to be due to involvement of the nucleus of the solitary tract in the brainstem. Despite some of the patients having suffered from choking episodes and others from bronchopulmonary complications, they did not spontaneously admit dysphagia. Swallowing should be evaluated thoroughly in patients with hereditary sensory ataxia since dysphagia in these patients might bring serious and potentially fatal complications.}},
  author       = {{Nilsson, Håkan and Ekberg, Olle and Olsson, Rolf and Hindfelt, Bengt}},
  issn         = {{1432-0460}},
  keywords     = {{Friedreich's disease; Sensory ataxia; Deglutition; Deglutition disorders; Diagnosis; Pharyngeal function; Esophageal function}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{140--143}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Dysphagia}},
  title        = {{Swallowing in hereditary sensory ataxia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00417904}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/BF00417904}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{1996}},
}