IBM Swallow
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of dysphagia in inclusion body myositis (IBM)
IRAS ID
305672
Contact name
Pedro Machado
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
UCLH/UCL Joint Research Office, part of the Research Directorate
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 4 months, 23 days
Research summary
Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) is a slowly progressive muscle disease that relentlessly progresses to disability. There is currently no drug treatment available for IBM. Swallowing is affected in 50-80% of the patients and associated with increased mortality and morbidity due to aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition and dehydration. Dysphagia (difficulty or discomfort in swallowing) is an underestimated and under-reported component of IBM but is commonly present if sought by history or clinical examination.
There is no consensus on treatment of dysphagia in IBM and outcomes are variable depending on timing of intervention, patient preference and available expertise. There is a lack of research exploring the disease processes behind dysphagia, the appropriate investigations to assess swallowing and measuring the severity of dysphagia in IBM.
Increased understanding of the disease processes behind dysphagia and increased capacity to reliably measure swallowing function over time, will facilitate clinical trials incorporating dysphagia as an outcome measure and is likely to change the approach to treatment as well as improve patients’ quality of life.
MRI has the potential to identify changes in muscles which help with swallowing in IBM and to accurately and reliably quantify these chronic changes. In particular increased fat within the muscles and changes in the size of the muscles involved in swallowing. Similarly there has been recent research into the use of Ultrasound (US) in detecting changes in the limb muscles of patients with IBM. US can detect the accumulation of fat in these muscles and estimate muscle size. However no studies looking at the ability of US to detect changes in the swallowing muscles of IBM patients have been performed.
We aim to determine the ability to detect change over time with MRI and US swallowing assessments over 1-year. We will aim validity of MRI swallowing assessments and functionally relevant clinical measures of swallowing function.
REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/LO/0465
Date of REC Opinion
12 Aug 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion