Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Airway Protection Deficits According to Stimulus Type in Parkinson's Disease
Brief Summary: 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.