title: Assessment of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Patients With Parkinson Disease: Use of Ultrasonography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare tongue thickness, the shortest hyoid-thyroid approximation (distance between the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage), and the time interval between the initiation of tongue movement and the time of the shortest hyoid-thyroid approximation, by using ultrasonography in healthy controls and patients with Parkinson disease (PD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy controls and PD patients with dysphagia were compared. Ultrasonography was performed 3 times for the evaluation of tongue thickness, the shortest hyoid-thyroid approximation, and the time between the initiation of tongue movement and the shortest hyoid-thyroid approximation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 24 healthy controls and 24 PD patients with dysphagia were enrolled. No significant differences were demonstrated between the two groups for the shortest hyoid-thyroid approximation (controls, 1.19±0.34 cm; PD patients, 1.37±0.5 cm; p=0.15) and tongue thickness (controls, 4.42±0.46 cm; PD patients, 4.27±0.51 cm; p=0.3). In contrast, the time to the shortest hyoid-thyroid approximation was significantly different between the two groups (controls, 1.53±0.87 ms; PD patients, 2.4±1.4 ms, p=0.048).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasonography can be useful in evaluating dysphagia in patients with PD by direct visualization and measurement of the hyoid bone. Moreover, ultrasonography might contribute to a greater understanding of the pathophysiology of dysphagia in PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Hyun
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyo Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kang
keywords: Dysphagia; Hyoid bone; Parkinson disease; Tongue; Ultrasonography