Amiri Shavaki Y, Saffarian A, Shahidi G A, Keyhani M R. The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Improves Vocal Loudness in Early Persian-speaking Patients With Parkinson’s Disease. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal 2021; 19 (1) :75-84
URL:
http://irj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-1149-en.html
1- Department of Speech and Language Pathology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Movement Disorders Clinic, Hazrat Rasool Hospital, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
3- Department of Basic Sciences, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (4071 Views)
Objectives: In the early stages, most Parkinson’s patients display some degrees of voice and speech disorders. Speech disorders can negatively affect individuals’ social interactions and life; thus, treatment plans for the disorders in the early stages might be further beneficial than the late stages. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of an intervention on Persian-speaking patients with early mild Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The intervention was the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT).
Methods: This was an interventional study and included 23 patients with PD. The study participants were randomly assigned into one of two groups; 13 patients in the intervention group (PD-I), and 10 in No-Intervention (PD-NI) group. Normal Persons (NP) or the control group included 13 healthy participants who were neurologically normal and presented no speech and voice disorders. Besides, they were matched with the PD-I group concerning education, age, gender.
Results: There was a significant impairment in Maximum Phonation Time (MPT), vocal loudness in vowel /a/, in reading, and during a monologue speech in the PD group, compared with the NP group (P≤0.001). The LSVT resulted in a significant improvement in all measures in the PD-I group (P≤0.001); however, no significant change was observed between the PD-I and PD-NI groups’ scores in first assessment (P≥0.201). In contrast, the PD-NI group’s results in all measurements of final assessment were significantly lower than those in the PD-I (P≤0.001) and NP (P≤0.001) groups. The MPT also exhibited a considerable improvement in the PD-I group, compared with the controls.
Discussion: The LSVT, as a therapeutic technique based on the motor learning theory was beneficial in improving the vocal loudness of Persian-speaking patients with PD in the early stages of their disease.
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● The explored patients in the early stage of Parkinson’s disease, compared with the neurologically normal control group, had significant impairment in Maximum Phonation Time (MPT), vocal loudness in vowel /a/, reading, and during a monologue speech.
● The presented LSVT significantly improved vocal loudness in Persian-speaking Parkinson’s patients who were in the early stages.
● There was a considerable increase in the MPT of the vowel /a/ in the studied patients in the PD group with the intervention (PD-I), even a little more than that in the healthy controls.
Plain Language Summary
Speech and voice disorders are observed in almost 90% of the Persian-speaking patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) during their course of illness. Reduced vocal loudness is among the vocal characteristics of these patients, which negatively affects social interactions and quality of life in them. A method for treating speech and vocal difficulties in patients with PD is the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD), i.e., used in other countries. In this study, we used LSVT for treating early-stage Parkinson’s patients in Iran. Accordingly, LSVT has led to an increase in vocal loudness in the speech of the explored patients with PD.
Article type:
Original Research Articles |
Subject:
Speech therapy Received: 2020/04/1 | Accepted: 2021/03/30 | Published: 2021/03/30
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