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Background: Tongue‐strengthening exercises may be used at home to strengthen swallowing‐related oropharyngeal muscles in community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia; however, evidence of their effectiveness remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effects of a home‐based tongue‐strengthening exercise (hTSE) using portable tool on swallowing‐related oropharyngeal muscles in community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia. Methods: Forth community‐dwelling older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia were enrolled in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. 1‐Repetition Maximum (1‐RM) of tongue muscle was measured in the experimental group using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument, and hTSE was performed using a portable tool with an intensity corresponding to approximately 70%–80% of the range based on the 1‐RM value (90 times/day, 5 days/week, for 8 weeks). The control group did not perform any tongue exercises. The primary outcome measures were tongue strength and thickness. The secondary outcome measure was suprahyoid muscle strength (digastric and mylohyoid muscles). Results: The experimental group showed significantly greater increases in suprahyoid muscle (mylohyoid and digastric) thickness (p =.01 and.011, d = 1.0 and.55), as well as tongue strength and thickness (p <.001 and.029, d = 2.2 and.6) than the control group. Conclusion: This study confirmed that hTSE using a portable tool is effective in increasing swallowing‐related oropharyngeal muscle activity in older adults with sarcopenic dysphagia. Therefore, hTSE is recommended as an inexpensive, safe, and easy‐to‐use therapy for sarcopenic dysphagia in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to determine the effect of changes in the legal systems related to traditional Korean medicine (TKM) and their effect on health care in Korea. To cope with the many changes and challenges in the Korean health care system, health law has been used as an instrument to implement national health policies and support the developments of health systems. In particular, the Medical Service Act, amended in 1951, was the key factor for the coexistence of TKM and Western medicine in Korea. For systematizing the TKM, the roles of the National Health Insurance Act and the Medical Service Act were crucial. Considering Korea's experiences, health laws related to TKM were designed to regulate the health care system and have contributed to improve the quality and safety of TKM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Digital health technology in swallowing rehabilitation offers personalized exercises, remote monitoring, and real-time feedback, enhancing accessibility and effectiveness of therapy. This scoping review was conducted to summarize what types and features of digital technology-based dysphagia rehabilitation interventions exist, how they are applied in patients with dysphagia, and what the effectiveness and facilitators and barriers to intervention application are., Methods: We searched Medline Complete, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, and gray literature for articles published between January 2000 and June 2023. We used subheadings and terms related to digital health, dysphagia, and rehabilitation to search for articles. The included studies were mapped according to the types and features, effectiveness, enablers, barriers, and future improvements of swallowing rehabilitation using digital technologies., Results: Twenty-five studies met the inclusion criteria. Three types of digital swallowing rehabilitation interventions were identified: home-based rehabilitation using the mHealth app, synchronous telepractice and monitoring, as well as game-based biofeedback and tracking. The included studies reported positive results regarding physiological changes in swallowing function, swallowing performance, and quality of life. Digital unfamiliarity, resources for digital access, and technical issues related to the failure of the mobile device operating system were identified as barriers to the use of digital swallowing rehabilitation technology and future improvements., Conclusions: Digital technology has potential value in dysphagia rehabilitation. In the future, developing various interventions utilizing the advantages of digital technology and conducting additional research to validate their effectiveness is necessary. Additionally, improved digital familiarity, better accessibility, better technology, and management practices will be needed., (© 2025 Chinese Cochrane Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: Early identification of penetration/aspiration (P/A) risk in older adults with sarcopenia is crucial to prevent complications and maintain quality of life., Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic utility of orofacial muscle strength measurements for predicting the risk of P/A in older adults with sarcopenia., Methods: In this observational and prospective study, we collated consecutive data from community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with sarcopenia at a musculoskeletal disorder clinic. Altogether, 54 participants underwent orofacial muscle strength measurements (the index test) using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument and a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) (the reference test) to evaluate for the presence of P/A. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine orofacial muscle strength based on P/A., Results: Overall, 34 patients showed penetration in the VFSS, although none of the patients showed signs of aspiration. The cut-off for tongue strength to identify the risk of P/A was ≤ 20.5 kPa, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.75 and 0.74, respectively; the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88. The cut-off for buccinator strength was ≤ 19.5 kPa, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.65 and 0.68, respectively, with an AUC of 0.69. The cut-off for lip muscle strength was ≤ 18.5 kPa, with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.65 and 0.71, respectively, with an AUC of 0.69., Conclusion: The evaluation of buccinator and lip muscle strength did not demonstrate sufficient diagnostic utility for detecting the risk of P/A in older patients with sarcopenia; however, tongue strength showed reliable diagnostic utility for identifying the risk of P/A., (© 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)