Which Voice Treatment Is Best to Treat Dysarthria in Parkinson Disease?

Results of a pragmatic, multicenter, unblinded, randomized trial support implementing Lee Silverman voice treatment.

Dysarthria is an important and undertreated symptom in Parkinson disease (PD). The authors were interested in testing Lee Silverman voice treatment (LSVT LOUD) — a U.S.-developed intensive therapy involving speech tasks and vocal exercises aimed at increasing vocal volume — against both U.K. National Health Service speech and language therapy and no therapy. They conducted a pragmatic, multicenter, three-arm parallel-group, unblinded trial in outpatient or home settings. They assigned 388 participants at random to one of three groups (1:1:1); all analyses were based on intention to treat. The primary outcome measure was total score following 3 months of therapy on the self-reported voice handicap index, a patient-reported measure of communi…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)