A university team of physicians, veterinarians and animal behaviorists has begun research with two very special canines to sniff out cancer. More info coming soon!
Lung cancer is the No. 1 killer in the U.S., and more than 45,000 people will be diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2015. Early detection dramatically improves survival rates. Currently, no reliable methods exist to screen for these […]
Manual control of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) is possible with a simple implant placed on the cricoid cartilage. The swallow expansion device (SED) has been shown to increase UES opening to greater than normal proportions (Laryngoscope 2010 Apr;Suppl 1:S1-S16.). […]
Dysphagia can be caused by innumerable disease processes. It has a significant impact on quality of life, life expectancy, and the utilization of health care resources. The most common causes of dysphagia have not been previously clarified. UC Davis CVS […]
Dr. Peter Belafsky and his team at the UC Davis Primate Center and University College London have received a $4.4 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to perform ground-breaking studies to help patients with complex airway […]
Dysphagia is a symptom, not a disease. Patients reporting the symptom of dysphagia may lack objective evidence of swallowing dysfunction. In order to accurately quantify the symptom of dysphagia, UC Davis CVS researchers have developed and validated a 10-item self […]
UC Davis CVS clinicians have embarked on an aggressive campaign to utilize regenerative medicine techniques to rehabilitate swallowing in patients with profound dysfunction. Recently published work from our center has shown that injected autologous muscle stem cells improve tongue strength […]
CVS researchers have discovered that suction placed below the upper esophageal sphincter can eliminate aspiration in a cadaver model of oropharyngeal dysphagia. In work presented at the Dysphagia Research Society, our team has shown that catheters of various sizes placed […]
Drs. Kuhn and Belafsky have completed research that suggests that volitional control of the UES is possible with biofeedback. Patients with a high resolution manometry catheter in their pharynx who were placed in front of a biofeedback monitor were able […]
Dysphagia is common and costly. Complications of swallowing dysfunction include dehydration, malnutrition depression, social isolation, pneumonia, pulmonary abscess, and death. For patients with profound disease,treatment options are limited. The UC Davis Center for Voice and Swallowing (CVS) is pushing the […]