Aspiration in the Elderly

In the elderly, even though many antibiotics were developed, pneumonia has still been one of the major causes of mortality. Especially aspiration pneumonia which is the main problem. Aspiration pneumonia whose onset mechanism is not only dysphagia but also the depression of the cough reflex. There are six main causes of dysphagia, one of them is discordance between respiration and swallowing. It is important problem in aspiration pneumonia. Respiration and swallowing have common points in anatomy and function. By the common points, if swallowing was detached from respiration, discordance between respiration and swallowing would occur, and then dysphagia would be caused immediately. Moreover swallowing and cough reflexes are recognized as airway protective reflexes and these are related with various brain functions. Brain functions are depressed by aging. Therefore in the elderly, swallowing and cough reflexes are depressed. When we think about the reactivation of swallowing and cough reflexes, it is important to think about the relationship between these reflex and brain functions. These days, anti-aspiration drugs are found by research focusing on the relationship between brain function and airway protective reflexes.