Study: NCT02710162

Intervention type: DEVICE
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Micro Mouth Pressure Meter
Description: The participant will be seated with the nose occluded using a nose clip. After inhaling to total lung capacity, the participant will place his or her lips around the mouthpiece and blow out as forcefully as possible. A flanged rubber mouthpiece will be used to overcome the inability of some individuals to create tight lip seal due to facial muscle weakness. Three trials will be performed and the patients highest maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) used.

Intervention type: DEVICE
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Iowa Oral Performance Instrument
Description: The Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) is a device that measures the peak pressure performance of lingual strength and endurance via the action of a bulb placed on the hard palate.

Intervention type: DEVICE
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Electrical Impedance Myography
Description: The SFB7 Bioimpedance device measures the function of the tongue by calculating measures of reactance, resistance and phase once a custom electrode array is placed on the midline of the subject's tongue for approximately 2 seconds.

Intervention type: DRUG
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Capsaicin
Description: A capsaicin challenge with three randomized blocks of 0, 50, 100, 200, and 500 μM capsaicin. The capsaicin will be dissolved in a vehicle solution consisting of 80% physiological saline, and 20% ethanol. Participants will be given the instruction cough if you need to prior to capsaicin delivery.The solution will be administered automatically upon detection of an inspired breath and there will be a minimum of one minute between each trial. This is to test the reflexive cough testing for upper airway sensitivity and motor thresholds.

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study
Description: Videofluoroscopic swallowing study will be performed to measure the oropharyngeal swallowing.

Intervention type: PROCEDURE
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Pulmonary Function Testing
Description: Pulmonary Function testing will be performed using conventional methods and will include the following outcomes: forced vital capacity (FVC), sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP), peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume (FEV1) expressed as a percentage of predicted values.

Intervention type: OTHER
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Swallowing Related Quality of Life Questionnaire
Description: Swallowing Quality of Life Questionnaire (SWAL-QOL) will be used for participant reporting of swallow-related quality of life.

Intervention type: OTHER
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Functional Oral Intake Scale
Description: The Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) will be used for participants to report their food intake habits.

Intervention type: OTHER
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised
Description: The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) will be used to track global disease progression in participants.

Intervention type: OTHER
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Eating Assessment Tool-10
Description: The Eating Assessment Tool-10 will be used for participant reporting of swallowing system severity.

Intervention type: OTHER
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: Communicative Effectiveness Survey
Description: The Communication Effectiveness Survey (CES) will be used for participant reporting of communication abilities across different speech contexts.

Intervention type: OTHER
Group type: EXPERIMENTAL
Intervention: The Center for Neurologic Studies Bulbar Function Scale
Description: The Center for Neurologic Studies Bulbar Function Scale (CNS-BFS) will be used to report bulbar function in study participants.