Noninvasive brain stimulation may improve swallowing after stroke
2011-03-25
(Press-News.org) Stroke patients who received electrical brain stimulation coupled with swallowing exercises showed greater improvement in swallowing ability than patients who did not receive this stimulation, according to a pilot study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Difficulty swallowing, known as dysphagia, is a common and serious stroke complication. It can lead to aspiration, when food or foreign matter accidentally enters the lungs causing pneumonia. Aspiration and aspiration pneumonia are common complications after stroke and can be deadly.
The non-invasive brain stimulation used in this study (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, or tDCS) uses a weak electrical current. It is transmitted via electrodes placed on the scalp, to increase activity in targeted areas of the brain. Researchers noted:
• Patients who received brain stimulation increased their ability to swallow by more than 2.5 points on a seven-point swallowing scale, compared to slightly more than one point among those who did not receive the treatment. This was statistically significant, so it was not likely due to chance.
• Overall, swallowing ability improved by at least two points in 86 percent of patients receiving stimulation, and in 43 percent of those who did not. While these percentages showed a trend toward improvement, they did not reach statistical significance, likely due to the small study size.
"Further studies are warranted to refine this promising intervention by exploring effects of stimulation parameters, frequency of stimulation, and timing of the intervention in improving swallowing functions in dysphagic-stroke patients," researchers noted.
The study comprised 14 patients recruited from the inpatient stroke center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. All patients had suffered an ischemic stroke within the previous one to seven days. Participants were randomized so that some received tDCS to the brain regions that control swallowing while others received "sham stimulation." Those receiving sham stimulation were prepped as if they are going to receive tDCS but did not.
###
Authors are: Sandeep Kumar, M.D.; Cynthia W. Wagner, M.S., CCC-SLP; Colleen Frayne, M.S., CCC-SLP; Lin Zhu, B.S.; Magdy Selim, M.D., Ph.D.; Wuwei Feng, M.D., M.S.; and Gottfried Schlaug, M.D., Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.
The National Institutes of Health and the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology funded the study.
Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the association's policy or position. The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily from individuals; foundations and corporations (including pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make donations and fund specific association programs and events. The association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and device corporations are available at www.americanheart.org/corporatefunding.
NR11– 1053 (Stroke/Kumar)
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-03-25
Patients who have suffered a "mini stroke" are at twice the risk of heart attack than the general population, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
These mini-strokes, called transient-ischemic attacks, or TIAs, occur when a blood clot temporarily blocks a blood vessel to the brain. Although the symptoms are similar to a stroke, a TIA is shorter ─ usually lasting only minutes or a few hours ─ and does not cause long-term disability. A TIA, also called a "warning stroke," signals a high risk of a subsequent, larger ...
2011-03-25
In an industry characterised by the need for strong technical skills, the development of the interpersonal side of things is often forgotten. If you're aiming for your first job post qualification or rising through the managerial ranks, Michael Page Finance knows that it's your soft skills that can set you apart from the crowd.
Recruiters on the lookout
Accountancy jobs can demand a varying set of skills. A range of different employers, from small businesses to FTSE-listed multinationals rely on us to recruit their finance professionals.
With exposure to so ...
2011-03-25
Researchers from China, Leicester and Oxford have discovered a remarkable fossil which sheds new light on an important group of primitive sea creatures.
The 525-million-year-old fossil belongs to a group of tentacle-bearing creatures which lived inside hard tubes. Previously only the tubes have been seen in detail but this new specimen clearly shows the soft parts of the body including tentacles for feeding.
Details of the discovery have been announced today in the journal Current Biology. The study was funded by the Royal Society and the National Natural Foundation ...
2011-03-25
The variety on offer at the Foire de Paris means everyone is likely to find something they are interested in at the exhibition, with stands ranging from travel destinations to cooking gadgets.
It runs from April 28th to May 8th 2011 and features three sections: home, leisure and world culture.
Visitors will find plenty of inspiration for luxury holidays and property renovations at the event, with exhibitors sharing top tips on how people can spend their cash.
To add to the fun, challenges and awards will be handed out during the fair for visitors and products.
The ...
2011-03-25
Children with Tourette syndrome could benefit from behavioural therapy to reduce their symptoms, according to a new brain imaging study.
Researchers at The University of Nottingham discovered that the brains of children with Tourette syndrome (TS) develop in a unique way — which could suggest new methods of treating the condition.
The study, published in the journal Current Biology, found that many children with TS experience a 'reorganisation' of the brain structure in their teens, as their brain compensates for the condition and allows them to gain control over their ...
2011-03-25
A study published today provides a new perspective on the Great Depression of the 1930s. A widely held view is that there were remarkable improvements in life expectancy of over five years. Using data from urban populations, researchers found that it was actually associated with an increase in suicides but reduction in motor-vehicle accidents, a pattern consistent with the impacts of the current recession in Europe and the U.S. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, is published in today's issue of the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Senior ...
2011-03-25
Your CV is first-class, your interview skills are impeccable and you've researched the company inside out and back-to-front, but there's one further hurdle you may need to overcome before that job is yours - the personality test.
Employers are increasingly incorporating pre-set personality tests into the interview process to quickly establish a candidate's suitability for the role and compatibility within the larger organisation.
Personality tests tend to follow a standardised format of quick-answer, true-or-false or multiple-choice questions (up to 500 in some instances). ...
2011-03-25
DALLAS – March 24, 2011 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a hormone pathway that potentially could lead to new ways of treating type 1 diabetes independent of insulin, long thought to be the sole regulator of carbohydrates in the liver. Results of this new study will be published March 25 in Science.
Another hormone, fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), has insulin-like characteristics beyond its role in bile acid synthesis. Unlike insulin, however, FGF19 does not cause excess glucose to turn to fat, suggesting that its activation could lead ...
2011-03-25
Bar Harbor, Maine -- A Jackson Laboratory research team, working in collaboration with researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, show that RNA granules--key players in messenger RNA (mRNA) processing--can affect eye development, leading to juvenile cataracts in humans and mice.
The research, published in the March 25 issue of Science, also demonstrates the first connection between RNA granules and glaucoma, as the humans and mice in the study developed glaucoma.
In the laboratory of Jackson Professor and Howard Hughes Medical ...
2011-03-25
BINGHAMTON, NY – A Binghamton University computer scientist with an interest in "green" software development has received the National Science Foundation's most prestigious award for young researchers.
Yu David Liu received a five-year, $448,641 grant from the NSF's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program. The highly competitive grants support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research. He also recently received a $50,000 grant from Google for a related ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Noninvasive brain stimulation may improve swallowing after stroke
