Effects of chemoradiation and tongue exercise on swallow biomechanics and bolus kinematics

Background: Common treatments for head and neck cancer (radiation and chemotherapy) can lead to dysphagia; tongue exercise is a common intervention. This study aimed to assess swallow biomechanics and bolus kinematics using a well-established rat model of radiation or chemoradiation treatment to the tongue base, with or without tongue exercise intervention.
Methods: Pre- and post-treatment videofluoroscopy was conducted on thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with radiation/chemoradiation and exercise/no exercise. Rats in the exercise groups completed a progressive resistance tongue training paradigm. Swallow biomechanics, bolus kinematics, jaw opening, and post-swallow respiration were assessed.
Results: Both treatments impacted outcome measures; the addition of exercise intervention showed benefit for some measures, particularly in rats treated with radiation, vs. chemoradiation.
Conclusions: Radiation and chemoradiation can significantly affect aspects of deglutition; combined..., Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into four groups: concurrent chemoradiotherapy without exercise (CCRT), radiotherapy without exercise (RT), CCRT+ tongue exercise (CCRT+TE), and radiotherapy (RT+TE), with 8 animals per group based on a priori power calculations). All rats underwent videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) at baseline (prior to treatment administration/exercise intervention) and 12 weeks post-treatment +/- exercise intervention, thus serving as their own controls. Treatment consisted of RT delivered to an 8X12 mm2 area of the tongue base over the course of ten days using methods previously described (Xstrahl Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) Irradiator). Administration of radiotherapy to this area targets a structure crucial for swallowing and allows exploration of how treatment may impact swallow function.
Each rat received 4.5 Gy/day, totaling 45 Gy – thus the biological effective dose was approximately 112 Gy. This fraction size was c..., , # Updated Effects of Chemoradiation and Tongue Exercise on Swallow Biomechanics and Bolus Kinematics: Open Source Data

 Description_of_the_data,_software,_and_file_descriptions 

  We have submitted our swallow and respiration patterns for the animals (ChemRad_Breathing_Analysis.xlsx); rat jaw aperture (opening) data (ChemRad_Jaw_Averages.xlsx); final organized data for bolus area, bolus speed, and mastication rate for pre and post WHAT? (ChemRad_Master_Sheet_Final_Organized.xlsx); bolus speed, bolus area, and mastication for each animal (Fluro_Template_Copy.xlsx); analysis of swallow-respiratory patterns of the animals in which the rater is blinded to timepoint and group (Respiration_Binding_02092022.xlsx); images showing the process we used to analyze the fluorscopic data (Fluoro_Protocol_Copy.docx); a written walkthrough of how we used MorphoJ to use CASM-R (MorphoJ_Analysis_Protocol.docx); statistical breakdown of collected data (PB_VELOC_GLM_Glen stats.docx); Processing and analyz...