Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Pitts, Dr. Bolser, Dr. Rosenbek, Ms. Troche, and Dr. Sapienza, is a cofounder of and has financial interest in Aspire, the company that makes the device used in this study. She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the company. Cough provides high expiratory airflows to aerosolize and remove material that cannot be adequately removed by ciliary action.
Expiratory muscle strength training EMST was tested to improve cough and swallow function. The results demonstrate that EMST is a viable treatment modality for a population of participants with PD at risk of aspiration. Key words: airflow, cough, dysphagia, Parkinson disease, respiratory strength training. Cough is a mechanism of airway clearance that adds to normal ciliary function.
The high airflow velocity provides the force to aerosolize material and safely remove it from the lungs. Van Den Eeden et al 17 concluded that this forced expiratory maneuver is an effective component for airway clearance. In those with Parkinson disease PD , aspiration may occur during swallowing, potentially causing pneumonia, 3 , 18 a leading cause of death in the population with PD.
Fontana et al 5 and Ebihara et al 3 reported significant decrement in cough function with PD, including decreased peak electromyogram amplitude of abdominal muscles during both reflexive and voluntary cough, and decreases in cough sensitivity necessary for activation of a reflexively induced cough. Recently, the authors examined the use of expiratory muscle strength training EMST as a treatment for increasing maximal expiratory pressure P e max generation.
Evidence of its benefits following training comes from numerous studies, including persons with PD, 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 the sedentary elderly, 28 those with multiple sclerosis, 29 , 30 instrumentalists, 31 professional voice users, 32 and young healthy adults.
