WO2019159203A1

WO2019159203A1 - A method for reactivating the sensation of the taste of food in patients suffering from als or dysphagia

Info

Publication number: WO2019159203A1
Application number: PCT/IT2018/000021
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luigi POMATA; Paolo PALUMBO
Original assignee: PALUMBO, Rosario
Priority date: 2018-02-16
Filing date: 2018-02-16
Publication date: 2019-08-22

Abstract

The present invention refers to a method for reactivating the sensation and/or the pleasure of the taste of food in patients suffering from severe difficulties in swallowing or unable to swallow, or patients suffering from illnesses causing severe dysphagia. In particular, said method comprises or consists of: extracting essences from food by using the preparation and extraction techniques of molecular gastronomy; at a later time, transferring said essences onto an absorbing support, for example a pad or similar ones; applying said support/pad to taste buds onto the patient's tongue, thus releasing the sensation of the taste of food. Moreover, the present invention refers also to the bud, or adsorbing support and the uses thereof.

Description

A METHOD FOR REACTIVATING THE SENSATION OF THE TASTE OF FOOD IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM ALS OR DYSPHAGIA

Technical field of the invention

The present invention refers to a method for reactivating the sensation and/or the pleasure of the taste of food in patients suffering from SLA, particularly in those patients suffering from severe difficulties in swallowing or unable to swallow.

Moreover, the present invention can also be applied to those persons suffering from dysphagia for any other reasons, and therefore suffering from difficulty or inability in swallowing.

In particular, said method comprises or consists of: extracting essences from food by using the preparation and extraction techniques of molecular gastronomy; subsequently, transferring said essences onto an absorbing support, for example a pad or similar ones; applying said support/pad to the taste buds onto the patient's tongue, thus releasing the sensation of the taste of food.

Moreover, the present invention refers also to the bud, or adsorbing support and the uses thereof.

Background of the invention

As it is well-known, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease (from the name of the American baseball player affected by the disease in 1939) , is a progressive neurodegenerative motor neuron disease, currently not treatable (it affects selectively both upper motor neurons and lower motor neurons) . ALS is characterized by a progressive muscle rigidity and weakness, due to muscles decreasing in size. This results in a progressive difficulty in movements until paralysis in speaking, swallowing and the impediment thereof, and eventually breathing. Among many difficulties and negative effects caused to the patient by the progression of the disease, the impossibility of fully tasting/enjoying food is considered one of the most serious or less acceptable. In particular, subjects affected by serious dysphagia or jaw paralysis feel this problem which makes swallowing hard and or prevents them from swallowing (in the most serious cases, patients are feed by feeding tube or catheter with liquid food and, as a consequence, they are not able to taste any food) . Obviously, the same problem is also suffered by patients affected by serious dysphagia due to other reasons or pathological conditions and therefore not able to swallow/eat autonomously (for example, in Italy, according to national statistics, people suffering from dysphagia are approximately 3%).

Technical problem

Therefore, patients and doctors need a simple and easily applicable system to find a solution to the problem described above. That is, it is necessary to dispose of a method and/or a device able to restore the taste of food, or in other words the pleasure given by taste of food, in a patient suffering from ALS, in particular advanced-stage one, or in a patient suffering from severe dysphagia.

The scope of the present invention is to give an effective solution to the technical problem described above .

Summary of the invention The present inventors have now surprisingly found that: 1) by extracting essences from food and/or ingredients thereof by means of molecular gastronomy, 2) applying said essences to a suitable support, and 3) applying said support to the patient's taste buds, it is possible to give an effective solution to the problem or necessity described above.

Therefore, a feature of the present invention is a method to restore the taste and/or pleasure of food in patients suffering from ALS or severe dysphagia, as described in the enclosed independent claim.

Another feature of the present invention is a support, as for example a pad or similar ones, containing the desired essences of food and/or ingredients thereof, for the use in the method above, as described in the enclosed independent claim.

A further feature of the present invention is the use of said pad described above to restore the taste and/or pleasure of food in patients suffering from SLA or severe dysphagia, as described in the enclosed independent claim.

Further features and advantages of the present invention can be inferred from the following description and enclosed dependent claims.

Disclosure of the invention

The present invention concerns a method to restore the taste and/or pleasure of taste of food in patients suffering from ALS or severe dysphagia, said method comprising or consisting of the following steps:

1) extracting essences from food and/or ingredients thereof by means of known techniques of extraction from molecular gastronomy, said techniques consisting substantially in cooking food at low temperatures and for a long time, cold pressing, using liquid nitrogen or steam distillation (the pockets full of essences are broken by compressing or exposing to low temperatures for a long time with the subsequent release and collection of essential oils) ; said extracted essences are in the form of oil which is water-soluble depending on the type of essence;

2) transferring said essences from step 1) onto an absorbing support, said support substantially consisting or consisting in a pad with a suitable shape to be inserted in the patient's mouth, also in the mouth of a patient suffering from a full jaw paralysis.

3) applying, putting said support charged with the essences from step 2) onto the patient's tongue, in contact with the taste buds thereof, holding it for a time sufficient to the desired release of said essences and the sensation thereof.

In particular, the object of the present invention is :

1) extracting essences from one dish and/or its individual ingredients by using the preparation and extraction techniques of molecular gastronomy; said extracted essences being under the form of an oil and/or water-soluble or not and/or spray applicable and/or dried under the form of mixed gelatinous drops to a gluten free wafer; said essences further being mixed or not with food supplements and/or vitamins;

2) transferring said essences from step 1) onto an absorbing support, said support being selected from: a pad, with a handle and a sterilized sponge for dental use at one end, with the concave shape of palate and tongue, made of plastic or wood or resin and or silicone for alimentary use;

3) applying said support charged with the essences from step 2) onto the patient's tongue, in contact with the taste buds thereof, holding it for a time sufficient to the desired release of said essences.

Moreover, in said method, said step 1) of extracting essences is carried out by means of cold pressing (trough liquid nitrogen) , after the traditional cooking, at low temperature or by means of steam distillation method.

Moreover, in said method, said absorbing support of said step 2) is a support which absorbs essences and releases them subsequently as it is in contact with taste buds .

Moreover, in said method, said absorbing support of step 3) is held in contact with the patient's taste buds from 10 to 30 seconds, preferably no more than a minute.

Moreover, in said method, said absorbing support is further charged an effective amount of vitamins and/or food supplements.

It is a further object of the present invention an absorbing support as described in the present description and in the enclosed claims.

It is a further object of the present invention the use of an absorbing support according to what is disclosed in the present document, to restore the taste and/or the pleasure of food in patients suffering from ALS or those diseasing causing severe forms of dysphagia.

The term "molecular gastronomy" is preferred by some chefs to the term "molecular cuisine" and describes a modern style of cooking, and takes advantage of many technical innovations from the scientific disciplines. In the application field, the principles supported by molecular gastronomy have led to experimentation and implementation of new methods of preparation, cooking, combination and presentation of foods: for example, through freezing by means of liquid nitrogen, food use of tobacco, "deep frying" in sugar, use of a high degree of vacuum for preparing mousses and meringues.

Molecular gastronomy is characterized by the food use in preparation of foods by means of unusual techniques, tools and ingredients, such as, for example: ultrasound, to obtain more precise cooking times; ice-cream machine, often used to make unusual flavors, particularly salty ones;

a so-called anti-griddle device, for cooling and freezing of liquids, oils and gels, which freeze between 30 and 90 seconds: the finished product has a crisp outer crust while the inside remains soft or creamy;

vacuum cooking, in which the food is placed in plastic bags, closed with a vacuum device and cooked at a low temperature (from 55°C to 60°C), in a bain-marie or in a steam oven, for a very long time (up to 48 hours for some dishes) ;

a so-called "roner", immersion thermostat for bain- marie cooking with constant water stirring;

a food dehydrator, to eliminate or reduce food moisture;

centrifuge;

the medical syringe, to inject unusual fillings without damaging the outer coating of food;

carbon dioxide, for the addition of bubbles and the production of foams by means of a siphon; liquid nitrogen, for instant freezing and blast chilling;

maltodextrins, to transform a high fat content into a powder;

sugar substitute or sweeteners;

enzymes ;

lecithin, emulsifying and non-stick agent;

hydrocolloids, such as, for example, starch, gelatin, pectin and natural gums (for example, agar) , used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifiers and stabilizers and, sometimes, necessary to create foams;

transglutaminase, a protein binder, also called meat glue;

an edible paper, for example, based on soybean and potato starch, which is printed from an inkjet printer loaded with edible inks;

the aromatic accompaniment, realized by the release of aromatic gases and smells by particular devices, from the serving dish or from the food itself; the aromatic substance may be presented as a garnish or creative plating; the smell can also be produced by the combustion of food.

For the scope of the present invention, molecular gastronomy (further described in details as an example in the description) allowed to extract essences from dishes as a whole or from ingredients thereof, preferably in the form of water-soluble oils or watery solutions with differentiated density, depending on the dish or ingredient .

By way of indicative example only, which does not limit the wide application field of the invention, in a preferred embodiment thereof, the essence of pasta alia carbonara dish is made in the following manner:

pasta is cooked in the traditional manner and then it is brought to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (- 195, 82°C) and, by means of cold pressing, in addition to volatile essential molecules, also non-volatile heavy ones, rich in flavor, of single components are gathered.

In a particularly preferred embodiment thereof, the essence of pasta alia carbonara is prepared on the pad, thus accurately reproducing the composition of the dish, i.e. transferring onto the pad:

60% pasta essence;

20% bacon essence;

10% egg essence;

8% pecorino cheese essence;

2% pepper essence.

Essences are reproduced onto the pad with the same percentages, preferably fully separated each other; in this manner the patient will have the sensation of really having in his mouth the above-described dish, rich in flavors and taste.

If already mixed essences were placed onto the pad, the taste of pasta alia carbonara would remain, but the taste would be flat and would not correspond to a real pasta alia carbonara.

Consequently, as already described, it is preferable to arrange the single essences on the pad, as disclosed above .

Consequently, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, as described above, the whole essence of a ready, composed dish is extracted and then charged onto the selected support for the final use.

In a more preferred embodiment of the present invention, the single essences of the single ingredients making up the dish are first extracted individually and then the same essences are suitably reassembled and charged, individually or not, onto the selected support, in the same percentage of each ingredient in each dish.

Provided that both embodiments belong to the present invention, the second one is preferred, as the final taste released onto the patient's taste buds is more similar to the real one, while the whole essence extracted from a ready dish is in general less strong/intense. Nevertheless, in some cases, for example when the recipe of the dish is particularly complex or rich in ingredients (possibly, delicate ingredients which cannot be cooked for a long time) , or when it is difficult to open the patient's mouth, it is more useful to prepare the desired dish and then to extract the whole final essence of the same dish, thus satisfactorily obtaining a desired achievement .

By way of a non-limiting example, an embodiment of pasta alia carbonara dish can be composed by 60-70% of pasta, 15-20% of egg, 5-10% of bacon, approximately 8% of pecorino cheese, and approximately 2% of black pepper (percentages by weight) . The essences of single ingredients are extracted from them as disclosed above and charged/made them absorb on a suitable support, for example a pad, for example a five-side sponge, in the ratio of the real dish. The pad holds the essences and will release them once it is in touch with the patient's taste buds, thus releasing the same taste of the dish in the mouth, with the same taste and intensity as it was actually eaten. The support of the present invention is made by a device that can be inserted, possibly also by force in case of impediment, into a patient's mouth and, particular, put in contact with the taste buds thereof.

For example, said support can be made up of a handle and adsorbing material, for releasing in the mouth the essences charged in it.

Preferably, the pad is made up of an either circular or flat or hollow middle stick made of wood or plastic, with a common dental sponge on its base, absorbing and releasing essences charged onto it;

the form of said stick is, as disclosed, suitable to be held by the operator and enough resistant to be inserted in the patient's mouth without breaking and/or being significantly deformed; said handle has at its end the above described material able to absorb essences extracted by food and/or ingredients thereof, and then to release them in the patient's mouth once it is put in contact with the taste buds thereof.

Said absorbing material is preferably selected between a pad, a sponge, a pad of synthetic material, preferably the mentioned dental sponge, but also a porous wood, of variable and suitable shape and size for the desired scope. Preferably, said material is made of a sponge pad for dental use or a porous wood, wherein the dried adsorbed essences melt in contact with salivary glands .

For people suffering from serious dysphagia and/or jaw paralysis, it is preferred the use of a support comprising a flat pad (as it can be used to force and open the mouth) and essences are charged in the form of drops emulsified with a gelatin-based product. The same drops can be charged onto a wafer which, as it is in contact with the tongue, is melt by salivary glands, thus enabling the essences to saturate taste buds.

Therefore, a further object of the present invention is, as described above, an absorbing support, made either from natural or synthetic biocompatible material; said support being charged with an effective amount of essence and/or essences of a food and/or single ingredients thereof, for making the patient taste or enjoy the taste of food.

Once it is put in contact with the taste buds of the patient's mouth, the support, for example the pad of the present invention, charged with the essences of food and/or constitutive ingredients thereof, is held in contact on site until it has suitably released the sufficient and necessary amount for making the patient taste the food or the pleasure of the food. The necessary time for achieve the desired scope, as already disclosed in the present description, varies from patient to patient depending on the seriousness of the illness and the sensitivity of taste buds, in addition to the stage of the illness. The time is also influenced by the period when the patient does not feed himself by mouth, as without swallowing and feeding by chewing, a fur (of viscous type) forms on the tongue and isolates taste buds; nevertheless, after the pad has been put 2 or 3 times on the mouth, this viscous fur melts, thus allowing to achieve the desired effect .

For this reason, the present inventors have also discovered that the present invention acts advantageously on the rehabilitation of taste buds and oral cavity (now totally absent in all the rehabilitation centers in the world) . The necessary time between the insertion of a pad and the other one to obtain the desired effect varies, as already disclosed, depending on the previously described patient's conditions, at least for the first times, and then, time after times, decreases until a minute; with a maximum interval of 5 minutes for the most difficult cases .

The following examples for the preparation of extracts from food and/or single ingredients thereof are provided here only as a non-limiting example of the present invention. Possible embodiment thereof will become apparent to the person skilled in the art.

According to the method of the preparative description above, and adjusting the various treatments to the different types of desired food, depending on the skills of the gastronome skilled in the field, it has been tested the preparation of a certain number of dishes made up by:

ham and melon, butter and salmon canapes, figs, cheese and pears, pasta alia carbonara dish, risotto with crescenza cheese and prosecco wine, pasta al pesto dish, grilled prawns, roasted chicken with fries, tiramisu cake, crema catalana cream, apple pie, custard ice cream, red and white wine, coffee and cappuccino.

In a further embodiment of the invention, essences of food and/or ingredients thereof have been enriched with an effective amount of vitamins and/or food supplement (for example, also synthetized and concentrated by means of molecular process) , as a patient suffering from dysphagia is not able to swallow and also take them orally .

Food supplement and vitamins are very important for a patient suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, for example, among antioxidants, B12 vitamin creates an anti inflammatory action of the motor neuron.

The amount of vitamins and food supplements varies depending on the patient and the gravity of conditions. In any cases, it is proportioned to the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), i.e. the daily amount recommended by the Department of Health.

All what has been disclosed above and the results of clinical searches carried out by the present inventors highlighted the necessity of carrying out the physical therapy of oral cavity, which had never been taken into account before in the prior art.

In fact, above all concerning patients which have undergone to tracheostomy, as the taste buds remain unused, the same taste buds form salivary/viscous secretions which need to be continuously drained. It has been surprisingly found that, by reactivating the sensation of taste of food by means of the method described in the present invention, the above-described case is reduced of 70%. The same thing applies to bitter reflux which stops.

Industrial applicability

The present invention allowed to obtain the restoration of taste of food in patients suffering from ALS, by means of the application to them of the method comprising, or consisting of, 1) extracting essences from food and/or ingredients thereof by means of molecular gastronomy, 2) applying said essences to a suitable adsorbing support, 3) applying said support to the patient's taste buds for the time necessary to obtain the restoration of taste of food.

Claims

1. A method for reactivating the sensation and/or the pleasure of the taste of food in patients suffering from SLA, said method comprising or consisting of the following steps:

2) transferring said essences from step 1) onto an absorbing support, said support being selected from: a pad, with a handle and a sterilized sponge for dental use at one end, preferably with the concave shape of palate and tongue, made of plastic or wood or resin and or silicone for alimentary use;

2. The method of claim 1, in which in step 1) said extraction of said essences is carried out by cold pressing (with liquid nitrogen) , after traditional cooking, at low temperatures, or by using the steam distillation technology.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, in which in step 2) said absorbing support is a support that absorbs the essences and then, in contact with the taste buds, releases them.

4. The method of anyone of the preceding claims, in which in step 3) said absorbing support is held into contact with the patient taste buds for 10 to 30 seconds; preferably no more than 1 min.

5. The method of anyone of the preceding claims, in which in step 3) said absorbing support is further charged with an effective amount of vitamins and/or food supplements .

6. An absorbing support for reactivating the sensation and/or the pleasure of the taste of food in patients suffering from SLA, said support being formed by a pad charged with one or more essences of food and/or constitutive ingredients thereof by using the preparation and extraction techniques of molecular gastronomy; said essences being under the form of an oil and/or water-soluble or not and/or spray applicable and/or dried under the form of mixed gelatinous drops to a gluten free wafer; said essences further being mixed or not with food supplements and/or vitamins.

7. An absorbing support, in accordance with claim 6, wherein a handle is comprised and a sterilized sponge for dental use at one end, preferably with the concave shape of palate and tongue.

8. An absorbing support, in accordance with claim 7, wherein the handling is made of plastic or of wood or of resin and/or silicone for food preparation.

9. Use of an absorbing support, in accordance with claim 6, for reactivating the sensation and/or the pleasure of the taste of food in patients suffering from SLA or from those illnesses causing a severe form of dysphagia .