Objective:To explore the value of flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) in guiding the decannulation of neurological disease patients with dysphagia after a tracheotomy.Methods:The FEES results of 188 neurological disease patients with dysphagia who had undergone a tracheotomy were analyzed retrospectively. The utility of FEES evaluation indexes (including glottis activity, the classification of pharyngeal secretions and residues as well as penetration-aspiration grade) for predicting the success of decannulation was explored.Results:One hundred and nine of the patients (the success group) were decannulated successfully and 79 (the failure group) were not, a success rate of 57%. The abnormal glottis activity rate among the failure group was 55%, significantly higher than among the success group (21%). The pharyngeal secretion classifications and penetration-aspiration grades among the success group were also significantly lower than among the failure group, on average. The average course of recovery from the tracheotomy was 184 days in the success group, significantly shorter than that of the failure group (292 days). No significant differences in residues were observed.Conclusion:The glottis activity, secretions and intake aspiration evaluated using FEES are of great value for guiding the decannulation of neurological disease patients with dysphagia after a tracheotomy.

Objective: To study the preventive effect of Timosaponin BⅡ (T-BⅡ) -loaded temperature/ion-sensitive nasal in situ hydrogels (ISGs) on Alzheimer's disease (AD), its preparation technology, characteristics and in vivo effects were evaluated.Methods: The morphological and rheological properties were evaluated. The preventive effects of T-BⅡ ISG on scopolamine-induced AD in mice were determined with the index of muscarinicreceptor 1 (M1) expression and pathological changes. Results: Results revealed that T-BⅡ ISG significantly increased the content of M1 choline receptors in the hippocampus of mice and ameliorated the damage incurred to the hippocampal cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) area. Conclusion: T-BⅡ ISGs is a reasonable and convenient method of exerting an obvious preventive effect on mice with AD induced by scopolamine. This, thereby, lays forth a new treatment option for preventing AD.