Difficulty Swallowing

Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, can occur in up to 75% of people with Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD) (Riess et al., 2008; Sequeiros & Coutinho, 1993) and traditionally dysphagia was believed to develop later in the disease progression once patients were no longer ambulatory (Sequeiros & Coutinho 1993; Sudarsky et al., 1992). This medical protocol outlines the symptoms associated with dysphagia and their prevalence, assessment and treatment.