Classification of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease based on resting state scalp-recorded electroencephalogram-derived indices.

Swallowing, an essential physiological function for nutritional and social performance in humans, is a complex biological mechanism that is constantly changing throughout life, making it an opportune field for the development of scientific studies, especially in relation to the mechanisms involved in healthy aging and its differentiation from pathological conditions, such as dysphagia in older patients. The concept of dysphagia can be understood as an alteration in the swallowing of liquid or solid substances in one of its phases, whether oral, pharyngeal, or esophageal, leading to difficulty in the passage of food and, in its most severe manifestation, to the occurrence of aspiration. In older people, dysphagia can be suspected when the following warning signs are present: delirium, inadequate number of chews, increased meal time, dysarthria, dysphonia, recurrent pneumonia, atrophy, unexplained weight loss, and so forth. Although natural physiological changes occur in the muscles involved in the swallowing process with age, these changes correspond to presbyphagia. This phenomenon causes a natural slowing of swallowing and rarely causes symptoms, so it should not be confused with dysphagia in older adults. This situation is a pathological condition that manifests peculiarly in underlying diseases and requires early investigation, as it can present different signs and symptoms throughout the phases of swallowing. In addition, it can be associated with important clinical and functional consequences in older adults, such as sarcopenia, frailty syndrome, malnutrition, anxiety, and depression. Dysphagia is estimated to affect 10% to 33% of older people worldwide and can reach up to 52% in institutionalized older adults with malnutrition, especially those suffering from neurological diseases. Regarding presbyphagia, the worldwide occurrence in older people is approximately 31%. In Brazil, there is a gap in epidemiological data regarding both adults and older adults, which may be associated with an underdiagnosis of dysphagia in the country.