Tongue Strength in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a poor prognosis that occurs in adults 64 years on average. Its prevalence is 4 to 6/100 000 inhabitants. Swallowing disorders occur during evolution and involve the prognosis of patients in the short term by the association of dysphagia with severe malnutrition, and aspiration. The issue of phoniatric monitoring is to detect early onset of the swallowing disorders to develop strategies for respiratory protection, food adapted to disturbances, and speech therapy. The objective of this study is to compare the tongue force in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the time of diagnosis and at the onset of swallowing disorders compared to healthy subjects, with the dynamic palatography device developed in the Laboratoire Parole et Langage (UMR 7309, CNRS-Université Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence), which allows the measurement of the strength and duration of the pression of the tongue on the palate.