# Mechanisms of airway protection dysfunction in Parkinson's disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2021 · $301,025

## Abstract

Aspiration pneumonia (APn) occurs at a disproportionately high rate in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD)
versus healthy age-matched older adults. This is of particular public health concern given that aspiration
pneumonia infection is a leading cause of death in persons with PD. The development of APn is multifactorial
with aspiration of material from disordered swallowing (dysphagia) without proper cough response being the
main contributing factor. These findings reflect the fact that both swallowing and cough are sensorimotor
behaviors, and thus require appropriate detection and scaling of a sensory stimulus in order to produce an
appropriate motor response. The long-term goal of this research is to advance the management of airway
protection deficits in patients with neurodegenerative disease in order to decrease morbidity and mortality due
to aspiration related lung infection. The objective here, which is a critical step in pursuit of that goal, is to further
specify the sensory mechanisms associated with airway protection disorders in order to advance the clinical
management of these patients. In order to accomplish the objective of this application we have identified 3
aims: First, determine relationship(s) between airway somatosensation, reflex cough and swallowing function
in people with PD, and how these relationships may change with disease progression, over time. Second,
determine whether cortical processing of sensory information is associated with deficits in reflex cough
sensitivity or swallowing function in people with PD, and third, to determine how the central neural filtering of
airway sensory stimuli may relate to the development of airway protective disorders. We will accomplish these
aims in 2 experimental studies. First, we will test the magnitude of respiratory resistive loads, in people with PD
across a range of disease durations, and in a healthy control group. We will measure reflex cough, using a
cough-inducing irritant (capsaicin), and swallowing function. We will perform these tests at 3 time-points,
spaced 10-14 months apart, in order to determine the relationships between respiratory sensation, cough
sensitivity and effectiveness, and swallowing function, and how they change with advancing disease duration.
Next we will perform electroencephalographic recordings time-locked to paired respiratory stimuli to determine
cortical processing of airway sensory information. We will measure the amplitude and latency of the sensory
evoked potential peaks, and compute ratios of peak amplitude between the first and second paired stimulus in
order to determine the degree of sensory gating. The realization of the proposed aims and studies is significant
because it is a necessary step in our program of research that is expected to lead to earlier, more accurate
identification, as well as targeted interventions for airway protection deficits in PD. Completion of this research
is systematically important for our goal of maintai...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10213790
- **Project number:** 5R01HD091658-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Karen W Hegland
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $301,025
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-09 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10213790

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10213790, Mechanisms of airway protection dysfunction in Parkinson's disease (5R01HD091658-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10213790. Licensed CC0.

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