title: Does age play a role in mylohyoideus muscle function?
abstract: Because swallowing disorders are frequent in the elderly, we assessed the relationship between age and mylohyoideus muscle contraction, which is an important component of the initial step in swallowing. In a prospective study, 120 subjects without any personal history of diseases associated with swallowing disorders underwent electromyographic recording (EMG) of mylohyoideus muscle activity. Four groups of equal size (n = 30) were defined according to age (< or = 50, 51-70, 71-85, >85 years). The frequency and duration of mylohyoideus muscle asynchronisms were compared among the four groups. The comparison of mylohyoideus muscle EMG among groups did not show a significant difference in the mean number of asynchronisms, in duration per subject or in the frequency of long-lasting asynchronisms. Asynchronisms were a very frequent event, observed in 98% of subjects, and were mostly short, lasting less than 0.1 s in 90% of subjects. In healthy elderly patients, there was no linear relationship between the mean duration of asynchronisms and ageing. The occurrence of one or more long-lasting asynchronisms or of at least six asynchronisms during a sequence of 10 successive swallows should be considered to be abnormal.
authors.affiliation: Service de Médecine Gériatrique and Digestive Tract Research Group, Hôpital Charles Nicolle, Rouen, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jégo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chassagne
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Landrin-Dutot
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Capet
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Havard
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Hellot
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doucet
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bercoff
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benichou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology*; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology*