Swallowing problems in patients with motor neuron disease.

A postal questionnaire was sent to 800 members of the Motor Neurone Disease Association about difficulties experienced in eating and swallowing foods and liquids. Replies were received from 310 patients or their relatives. In 45 cases the reply was from the relative of a patient who had died recently. Seventy-three percent of patients had difficulty in chewing or swallowing and this was most marked in patients who had died. Most problems were encountered with solid food rather than liquids. Aspiration was a common problem and may have contributed to some patients' death. Surprisingly, swallowing was often painful.