Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), likely initiate their pathologies primarily within the brain and later manifest themselves in daily behavioral functions. In patients with PD, the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia results in sensorimotor deficits, including tremor, bradykinesia, olfactory function loss, speech/voice loss, and eating disorders. Although not much is known about the etiology of Parkinson’s disease, extensive studies have focused on correlating different signs of motor degradation with the degree of dopaminergic neuron loss. Despite the fact that different animal models and diverse behavioral methods have been developed to further characterize limb motor function loss, the loss of fine oromotor function, which includes eating/biting disorders and voice/speech loss, has been largely overlooked due to its intrinsic complexity as well as the lack of a precise method for quantitative description. An animal model was developed for the study of oromotor deficits in PD that utilizes the production of ultrasonic vocalization in lab rodents. Parkinsonian animals suffer the same symptoms in their vocalization compared to human PD patients: a significant drop of intensity and pitch variation. Furthermore, a newly developed biting test provided evidence that the animal’s oromotor function have been compromised due to dopamine loss. Overall, these studies show that qualitative analysis of the ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) of laboratory rats can serve as a sensitive behavioral biomarker for the detection of subtle oromotor deficits in neurodegenerative diseases. / text

A Paralisia Cerebral (PC) é considerada a principal causa de deficiência física grave na infância, sendo comum o comprometimento motor associado. Esse, por sua vez, é apontado como a maior causa da alta prevalência de problemas na alimentação dessas crianças. Faz parte da função motora orofacial a respiração, a mastigação, a deglutição, a fala, a expressão facial e a aparência, e dessa forma, a disfunção pode comprometer o bem-estar da criança e de seu cuidador, uma vez que, quando presente, interfere na dinâmica interna e na rotina da família. O presente trabalho objetivou correlacionar 2 métodos de avaliação motora orofacial, avaliar a influência do comprometimento funcional orofacial no estado nutricional de crianças e adolescentes com PC e sua associação com condições socioecônomicas. Foram selecionadas 70 crianças e adolescentes com diagnóstico de PC, com idade de 6 a 16 anos (grupo estudo), e 129 crianças normorreativas, pareadas por gênero e idade aos PCs (grupo controle). Para a avaliação motora orofacial foram aplicados os instrumentos Oral Motor Assessment Scale (OMAS) e Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S). A avaliação antropométrica foi baseada nas curvas da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), segundo os critérios do Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. Houve correlação estatisticamente significante entre os métodos de avaliação oromotora (r= -0,439, p<0,0001). Quanto à avaliação nutricional, observamos maior prevalência de estar acima do peso para as variáveis tipo de PC- distônico e misto (p=0,034), mães sem companheiro (p=0,045) e para menor comprometimento oromotor (p=0,028). Concluimos que, o ganho de peso em crianças e adolescentes é favorecido por um melhor desempenho funcional oromotor e fatores sociais. / Cerebral palsy (CP) is the main cause of severe physical impairment during childhood, which has commonly shown motor association. This has been pointed out as the main cause of high prevalence of problems in childrens nutrition. It is part of orofacial motor function: respiration, chewing, swallowing, speaking, facial expression and appearance, and therefore, the impairment can affect childrens well-being. The aim of this study was to correlate 2 methods of oral facial motor evaluation, evaluate the influence of oral facial functional impairment on the nutritional status of children and adolescents with CP, and the association between socioeconomic factors. 70 children and adolescents were selected with definitive CP diagnosis, age range 6-16 yrs and exclusion criteria previously determined, 129 normoreactive children, sex and age-matched to CPs (control group). For the oral facial motor evaluation two evaluation instruments were applied Oral Motor Assessment Scale (OMAS) and Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S). The anthropometric evaluation was based on the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the criteria recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. There was statistically significant correlation between the oral motor methods of evaluation (r=-0.439, p<0.0001). With regards to the nutritional status evaluation, the studied population showed greater prevalence for overweight referring to the variables CP forms, dystonic and mixed (p=0.034), mother with no partnership (p=0.045) and a smaller oral motor impairment (p=0.028). It was concluded that, the weight´s gain by children and adolescents is favoured by a better functional oral motor performance and social factors.

A Paralisia Cerebral (PC) é considerada a principal causa de deficiência física grave na infância, sendo comum o comprometimento motor associado. Esse, por sua vez, é apontado como a maior causa da alta prevalência de problemas na alimentação dessas crianças. Faz parte da função motora orofacial a respiração, a mastigação, a deglutição, a fala, a expressão facial e a aparência, e dessa forma, a disfunção pode comprometer o bem-estar da criança e de seu cuidador, uma vez que, quando presente, interfere na dinâmica interna e na rotina da família. O presente trabalho objetivou correlacionar 2 métodos de avaliação motora orofacial, avaliar a influência do comprometimento funcional orofacial no estado nutricional de crianças e adolescentes com PC e sua associação com condições socioecônomicas. Foram selecionadas 70 crianças e adolescentes com diagnóstico de PC, com idade de 6 a 16 anos (grupo estudo), e 129 crianças normorreativas, pareadas por gênero e idade aos PCs (grupo controle). Para a avaliação motora orofacial foram aplicados os instrumentos Oral Motor Assessment Scale (OMAS) e Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S). A avaliação antropométrica foi baseada nas curvas da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), segundo os critérios do Ministério da Saúde do Brasil. Houve correlação estatisticamente significante entre os métodos de avaliação oromotora (r= -0,439, p<0,0001). Quanto à avaliação nutricional, observamos maior prevalência de estar acima do peso para as variáveis tipo de PC- distônico e misto (p=0,034), mães sem companheiro (p=0,045) e para menor comprometimento oromotor (p=0,028). Concluimos que, o ganho de peso em crianças e adolescentes é favorecido por um melhor desempenho funcional oromotor e fatores sociais. / Cerebral palsy (CP) is the main cause of severe physical impairment during childhood, which has commonly shown motor association. This has been pointed out as the main cause of high prevalence of problems in childrens nutrition. It is part of orofacial motor function: respiration, chewing, swallowing, speaking, facial expression and appearance, and therefore, the impairment can affect childrens well-being. The aim of this study was to correlate 2 methods of oral facial motor evaluation, evaluate the influence of oral facial functional impairment on the nutritional status of children and adolescents with CP, and the association between socioeconomic factors. 70 children and adolescents were selected with definitive CP diagnosis, age range 6-16 yrs and exclusion criteria previously determined, 129 normoreactive children, sex and age-matched to CPs (control group). For the oral facial motor evaluation two evaluation instruments were applied Oral Motor Assessment Scale (OMAS) and Nordic Orofacial Test-Screening (NOT-S). The anthropometric evaluation was based on the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the criteria recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. There was statistically significant correlation between the oral motor methods of evaluation (r=-0.439, p<0.0001). With regards to the nutritional status evaluation, the studied population showed greater prevalence for overweight referring to the variables CP forms, dystonic and mixed (p=0.034), mother with no partnership (p=0.045) and a smaller oral motor impairment (p=0.028). It was concluded that, the weight´s gain by children and adolescents is favoured by a better functional oral motor performance and social factors.