Volume 19, Issue 1 (March 2021)                   Iranian Rehabilitation Journal 2021, 19(1): 75-84 | Back to browse issues page

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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
The Lee Silverman Voice Treatment Improves Vocal Loudness in Early Persian-speaking Patients With Parkinson’s Disease
Younes Amiri Shavaki1 , Arezoo Saffarian * 1, Gholam Ali Shahidi2 , Mohammad Reza Keyhani3
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:   (3095 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.
Keywords: Voice, Treatment, Loudness, Voice disorders, Parkinson disease
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Article type: Original Research Articles | Subject: Speech therapy
Received: 2020/04/1 | Accepted: 2021/03/30 | Published: 2021/03/30
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