ReviewAudiology research2025
Brainstem Stroke and Dysphagia Treatment: A Narrative Review on the Role of Neuromodulation, Skill-Based Swallowing Training and Transient Receptor Potential Agonists.
Review in Audiology research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Neuromuscular-related interventions for post-stroke dysphagia: a comprehensive narrative review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Data mining of acupoint selection and combination patterns for dysphagia with sialorrhea: a literature-based study.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Swallowing Improvement Surgery for Dysphagia in Wallenberg Syndrome: A Scoping Review of the English and Japanese Literature.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Pharyngeal electrical stimulation for the treatment of dysphagia in Wallenberg syndrome: A FEES-based case analysis.eNeurologicalSci · 2026Article
- Risk factor assessment and phased management for post-stroke dysphagia in hospitalized patients: a retrospective evidence-based study.BMC neurology · 2026Observational
- Swallowing trajectories and influencing factors among subacute stroke patients with dysphagia in rehabilitation wards: a longitudinal study.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Swallowing is mediated by the central nervous system, including cortical and subcortical structures, the cerebellum, and the brainstem. The brainstem contains the swallowing centre that is crucial for initiating and coordinating swallowing. Consequently, brainstem damage due to stroke often leads to severe and persistent dysphagia. The aim of the present narrative review is to provide an overview of dysphagia following brainstem stroke and its management. It summarizes the physiology and pathophysiology of dysphagia following brainstem stroke and the available therapeutic options, and evaluate their effectiveness for dysphagia following brainstem stroke, which would promote the development of therapeutic protocols. Neuromodulatory techniques, including pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), modulate the excitability of corticobulbar circuits. These techniques promote neuroplasticity through peripheral or cortical electrical or electromagnetic inputs. Skill-based swallowing training emphasizes cortical involvement in enhancing swallowing skill, offering a targeted approach to behavioural rehabilitation. Finally, transient receptor potential (TRP) agonists increase sensory inputs to the swallowing system by stimulating the sensory receptors in the oropharynx, potentially activating the swallowing network. While these options have shown promise in dysphagia rehabilitation following stroke, most the available data comes from patients with mixed stroke lesions, with limited data focused specifically on brainstem lesions. Therefore, the evidence for their efficacy in patients with brainstem stroke remains underexplored. Therefore, treatment decisions should rely on the understanding of swallowing physiology, neuroplasticity, and clinical evidence from related stroke populations.
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