title: Dysphagia in stroke patients.
abstract: Swallowing musculature is asymmetrically represented in both motor cortices. Stroke affecting the hemisphere with the dominant swallowing projection results in dysphagia and clinical recovery has been correlated with compensatory changes in the previously non-dominant, unaffected hemisphere. This asymmetric bilaterality may explain why up to half of stroke patients are dysphagic and why many will regain a safe swallow over a comparatively short period. Despite this propensity for recovery, dysphagia carries a sevenfold increased risk of aspiration pneumonia and is an independent predictor of mortality. The identification, clinical course, pathophysiology, and treatment of dysphagia after stroke are discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of GI Sciences, Hope Hospital, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamdy
mesh_terms: D002493:Central Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D003679:Deglutition / Q000502:physiology; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D016145:Endoscopy, Digestive System / Q000379:methods; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011379:Prognosis; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation