Title of article :
Effectiveness of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® LOUD on Japanese-Speaking Patients with Parkinson’s Disease
Author/Authors :
Nakayama, Keigo Department of Rehabilitation Medicine - National Center Hospital - National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry - Ogawahigashi - Kodaira - Tokyo, Japan , Yamamoto, Toshiyuki Department of Neurology - National Center Hospital - National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry - Ogawahigashi - Kodaira - Tokyo, Japan , Oda, Chihiro Department of Neurology - National Center Hospital - National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry - Ogawahigashi - Kodaira - Tokyo, Japan , Sato, Masako Department of Neurology - National Center Hospital - National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry - Ogawahigashi - Kodaira - Tokyo, Japan , Murakami, Takeshi Speech-Language and Hearing Science, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan , Horiguchi, Satoshi Speech-Language and Hearing Science, Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-15-1 Kitasato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan
Abstract :
Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® LOUD (LSVT®) is an intensive program devised in the United States to train patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) to speak louder, at normal intensity, while keeping a good voice quality. Four weeks of LSVT® has been shown to increase vocal loudness and improve intelligibility among Japanese-speaking PD patients. However, the long-term effects of LSVT® have not been examined in these patients. Objective. is study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of LSVT® on Japanese-speaking PD patients. Methods. Twenty-one Japanese PD patients underwent a standardized course (four sessions over four consecutive days, for four weeks) of LSVT® at our hospital. Vocal loudness and intelligibility were assessed at the following three time-points: pretreatment (baseline), immediately aer treatment, and at the end of the 12 month follow-up (12FU). Sound pressure levels (dB SPL) were measured during the following tasks: sustained phonation of /a/, reading a standardized text, and delivery of a monologue. ree experienced speech-language pathologists, who were blinded to patients’ identities and assessment points, assessed speech intelligibility based on recorded audio samples of each participant during the reading and monologue tasks. Results. Fourteen patients were evaluated at 12FU. Changes in dB SPL from baseline to immediately aer treatment were +6.5dB, +4.2dB, and +2.8dB, and those from baseline until 12FU were +4.7dB, +3.5dB, and +2.5dB in sustained phonation of /a/, reading a passage, and delivery of a monologue, respectively. ese changes were significant (p < 0.025) in both the baseline-to-immediately-aer-treatment and baseline-to-12FU intervals. Intelligibility relative to baseline was significantly improved immediately aer treatment, but not at 12FU. Conclusions. LSVT® had a long-term effect on the vocal loudness of Japanese-speaking PD patients. A short-term effect was seen in intelligibility, however, there was no significant long-term effect
Keywords :
Lee Silverman Voice Treatment , LOUD , Japanese-Speaking Patients , Parkinson’s Disease , PD , LSVT
Journal title :
Rehabilitation Research and Practice
