NL
DE
It's been a great summer for our paramedical research! Paramedical researchers at Radboudumc have received no fewer than four grants from ZonMw as part of the program 'Answering knowledge questions in paramedical care knowledge agendas'. A total of €1.1 million has been awarded.
With the four grants, we can further improve patient care through the use of dietitians, occupational therapists, and speech therapists. Below you can read what these studies entail.
1. Dietetics: optimizing dietary treatment
The Dietetics department has received a grant of €275,000 for the OPTIMISE project (lead applicant: Harriët Jager-Wittenaar). This stands for OPTIMizing dietary treatment by measuring body composition and function in malnutrition/sarcopenia.
Malnutrition and muscle loss (sarcopenia) are often recognized and treated too late or inadequately throughout the entire care process for patients. As a result, many people do not receive dietary treatment that is truly appropriate for their situation.
The OPTIMISE project aims to improve this. The goal is to improve and personalize the diagnosis and treatment of malnutrition and sarcopenia in patients with cancer, chronic lung disease, and/or heart disease. To this end, a new transmural approach is being developed and tested in collaboration with patients and dietitians. We want to make nutritional assessment more accessible so that more patients can benefit from tailored treatment.
The expected benefits include faster and better diagnosis close to home, more personalized dietary treatment for malnutrition and sarcopenia, and higher quality of care at lower costs.
2. Occupational therapy: effect on fatigue in progressive neurological disease
The Occupational Therapy section of the Rehabilitation department has been awarded €275,000 for research into the effectiveness of occupational therapy for people with fatigue associated with progressive neurological disease. The principal applicant is Edith Cup, and the co-applicants are Maud Graff, Ingrid Sturkenboom, and Nicole Voet.
Many people with progressive neurological diseases are hampered in their daily lives by severe fatigue. This research looks at how effective and cost-efficient occupational therapy can be in helping these patients. The aim is to improve their participation in meaningful activities, balance in life, and self-management.
This PhD research is being conducted in collaboration with representatives from Spierziekten Nederland (Muscular Diseases Netherlands), the Parkinson's Association, Ergotherapie Nederland (Occupational Therapy Netherlands), and the Neurorehabilitation Research Group.
3. Speech therapy: impact on speech and swallowing disorders in muscular diseases
The Radboudumc Expertise Center for Muscular Diseases, through its Rehabilitation Department (lead applicant: Hanneke Kalf), has secured two grants of €275,000 each in collaboration with Spierziekten Nederland (Muscular Diseases Netherlands). These grants will fund research into the impact of speech therapy on speech and swallowing disorders in children and adults with muscular diseases.
Many muscle diseases lead to problems with speaking, chewing, and swallowing. In children, muscle weakness can hinder the normal development of eating, drinking, and speaking. Speech therapy usually focuses on finding ways to cope with this. New insights show that exercise and strength training can be beneficial for muscular diseases. However, it is still unclear whether this also applies to the muscles needed for speaking and swallowing.
4. Research in children & adults with muscular disease
Research in children with muscular disease
The study Intensive speech therapy treatment of bulbar problems in children with muscular diseases investigates whether an intensive program helps children with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (MD1) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It looks at changes in muscle quality, chewing and swallowing function, intelligibility, and communication after 8 weeks of therapy and 10 months of exercises. The experiences of children, parents, and speech therapists are also evaluated to see what works well and where improvements can be made.
This research is led by Marloes Lagarde (speech therapist), with guidance from supervisor Jan Groothuis (rehabilitation physician).
Research in adults with muscular disease
The study Intensive speech and swallowing training in adults with muscular disease looks at the effects of intensive speech therapy. In adults with MD1 muscular disease, the study investigates whether training articulation and muscle strength helps to strengthen the mouth muscles, improve speech intelligibility, and facilitate communication. For people with oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD) and inclusion body myositis (IBM), the study will examine whether swallowing training improves muscle quality and swallowing function. The experiences of participants and speech therapists will also be taken into account.
The project leader for this study is Simone Knuit (speech therapist); the supervisor is Jan Groothuis. In both speech therapy studies, speech therapists from primary care (such as local practices) carry out the treatments. This combines the knowledge of specialized (tertiary) centers with care close to home.
