Capsaicin troche for swallowing dysfunction in older people

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Respiratory Physiology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Aging is associated with impaired upper respiratory protective reflexes, increasing aspiration risk.
• Swallowing and cough reflexes are crucial for preventing aspiration pneumonia in the elderly.
• Limited interventions exist to effectively enhance these protective reflexes in older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of oral capsaicin troche supplementation in improving upper respiratory protective reflexes.
• To assess the impact of capsaicin on the swallowing reflex latency time (LTSR) and cough reflex sensitivity.
• To determine if capsaicin supplementation can upregulate impaired protective reflexes in nursing home residents.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, controlled study involving 64 nursing home residents (mean age 81.9 years).
• Participants received either capsaicin trochisci or placebo trochisci before every meal for 4 weeks.
• Key outcome measures included the latency time of the swallowing reflex (LTSR) and cough reflex sensitivity.

Main Results:

• Capsaicin supplementation significantly shortened LTSR compared to placebo (P<.05).
• The odds of LTSR shortening by over 1 minute were 3.4 times higher in the capsaicin group (P=.03).
• Capsaicin significantly improved cough reflex sensitivity in 52.1% of participants versus 21.9% in the placebo group (P<.01).

Conclusions:

• Daily oral capsaicin supplementation effectively improves upper respiratory protective reflexes.
• The intervention demonstrated particular benefit in older individuals at high risk for aspiration.
• Capsaicin troches represent a potential therapeutic strategy to mitigate aspiration risk in the elderly.