Dysphagia, QoL and Attitudes Towards PEG in ALS Patients

IOPI measures the peak pressure of the tongue strength and endurance using a disposable bulb placed on a hard palate behind the front teeth or at the base of the tongue. The participants will be asked to press the bulb with their tongue with maximum pressure, three times. To measure the endurance, the participants will be asked to hold the pressure for as long as they can.

MASA is a standard clinical swallowing assessment protocol including general patient examination, on-the-outside visible signs of oral preparatory and transportation phase and pharyngeal phase of swallowing function.

The subjects will ingest up to 10 boluses ranging in thickness and volume (from thin to extremely-thick and a cookie).

Respiratory function measurements will include forced vital capacity (FVC), maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), all expressed in percentage of predicted values. Conventional methods of testing will be applied.