Figure 1
From: Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing in early-to-advanced stage Huntington’s disease
Dysphagia parameters in controls (n = 31) and HD patients (n = 61): early (n = 26), moderate (n = 17), and advanced HD (n = 18). (a) Comparison of the Dysphagia Outcome and Severity Scale (DOSS) level in HD patients and controls. DOSS levels were lower in early-moderate-advanced HD patients compared to controls (mean ± SEM of DOSS: controls 6.52 ± 0.10, early-stage 5.54 ± 0.16, moderate-stage 4.53 ± 0.21, advanced-stage HD 3.83 ± 0.28, Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's test, *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001). (b) Distribution of dysphagia frequency. Dysphagia was present in 35% of early-stage, 94% of moderate-stage, and 100% of advanced-stage HD patients (p < 0.0001, df 3, Chi-square 64.58). (c) Comparison of Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) scores. PAS scores were higher for HD patients than for controls (mean ± SEM of PAS scores: controls 1.26 ± 0.12, early-stage 2.58 ± 0.42, moderate-stage 4.24 ± 0.47, advanced-stage HD patients 5.44 ± 0.58. Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn's test, *p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001). (d) Pie chart showing the percentage of silent aspiration, aspiration and penetration in HD patients.
