# Treatment of Functional Deficits IN tongue muscles induced by radiation and chemoradiation treatment

> **NIH NIH R37** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2021 · $349,988

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Radiotherapy and chemoradiation for head and neck cancer treatment exposes normal tissues to radiation,
which has many devastating effects and often results in difficulty with communication and swallowing. While
muscle weakness and fibrosis are possible etiologies for disruptions in critical communicative and deglutition
functions following radiation, very little research has been performed on underlying biological changes within
muscles of the head and neck following radiation, or possible treatments for these lasting negative effects.
Skeletal muscles can adapt at multiple levels of structure and function to changing demands. Exercise training
of the tongue, or enhanced muscle contraction via neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) may be
beneficial for preventing or reversing muscle tissue damage. However, controlled research examining these
putative benefits has not been performed and optimal treatment modalities have not been established. Our
hypothesis is that radiotherapy and chemoradiation-induced decline in speech and swallowing function is
largely due to alterations in tongue muscle structure and function. Further, we hypothesize that tongue
exercise or NMES will result in phenotypic changes in extrinsic tongue muscles that will improve tongue
muscle function. To examine these clinically-relevant issues, we will use a rat model to test two different
tongue treatment paradigms (tongue exercise; NMES) for remediation of radiotherapy and chemoradiation-
induced muscle damage. The proposed research has two specific aims: 1) To determine how treatment
modality affects morphological, biochemical, and physiological changes in radiotherapy and chemoradiation-
induced muscle damage of the tongue, 2) To discover how tongue exercise and/or NMES treatment affects
functional measures of deglutition following radiotherapy/chemoradiation. This work is innovative and
significant because the mechanisms by which tongue exercise or NMES can prevent or treat the effects of
radiation- or chemoradiation-induced communication and swallowing dysfunction is largely unexplored. Our
animal model and treatments are analogs to treatments used in human patients and follow the Institute of
Medicine guidelines for increasing probability of translation. Further, this work is highly significant in providing a
basis for understanding the mechanisms underlying the potential of therapeutic interventions for radiation- and
chemoradiation-induced cranial impairments. Translation of findings will assist with increasing the
effectiveness of treatments for radiation- and chemoradiation-induced tongue muscle impairments that are so
prevalent in patients with head and neck cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10071872
- **Project number:** 5R37CA225608-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** John A Russell
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $349,988
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-01-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10071872

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10071872, Treatment of Functional Deficits IN tongue muscles induced by radiation and chemoradiation treatment (5R37CA225608-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10071872. Licensed CC0.

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