Lee Silverman Voice Treatment to Improve Speech in Parkinson's Disease: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis
Parkinson's Disease
Pu, T., Huang, M., et al. (2021).
Parkinson's Disease, 2021, 3366870.
This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the effects of Lee-Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) on speech and voice-related outcomes in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).
Chengdu Medical College Foundation; Chengdu Science and Technology Bureau; Sichuan Health Commission; Sichuan Undergraduate Innovation and Startup Program (China)
From database inception to December 2021
Randomized controlled trials
10
<div>The following findings were reported following LSVT for individuals with PD:</div>
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<li>Significantly higher sound pressure levels (SPLs) were noted following LSVT when compared to controls receiving other speech-language pathology treatment or no treatment (mean difference [MD] = 7.36 dB).</li>
<li>Significantly higher SPLs were also found during vowel prolongation (MD = 13.33 dB), Rainbow Passage reading (MD = 6.67 dB) and monologues (MD = 3.93 dB). </li>
<li>When compared to the control group, individuals receiving LSVT maintained SPL improvements at 1-6 month and 6-12 months post treatment.</li>
<li>LSVT provision was associated with significantly decreased scores on the Voice Handicap Index (MD = −14.60) and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III (MD = -0.57), which is a measure of Parkinson's disease symptoms.</li>
<li>LSVT had positive significant effects on speech intelligibility (MD = 16.54) and on semitone standard deviation during the Rainbow Passage reading (MD = 0.30 dB).</li>
<li>No significant effects were found on semitone standard deviation during monologues.</li>
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<div>Heterogeneity between studies and potential for selection bias were notable limitations to this review.</div>
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