The progressive neurodegenerative disease affects around 153,000 people in the UK.
Researchers from the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham have found that a new form of speech and language therapy is more effective than the speech and language therapy (SLT) currently used to treat Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the NHS.
Published in British Medical JournalThe PD-COMM trial has been evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two types of SLT in neurological patients with self-reported voice or speech problems.
Parkinson’s, which affects around 153,000 people in the UK, is a neurodegenerative disease that gradually damages parts of the brain, causing symptoms such as tremors and stiffness.
Changes in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease cause the muscles used to produce sound to become smaller and less powerful, causing problems with speech and communication.
The trial, conducted across the UK by NHS Speech and Hearing Services and coordinated by the Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, allocated 288 people with PD and speech disorders to receive Leigh Silverman Speech Therapy (LSVT LOUD) – a type of speech therapy specifically designed for PD and other neurological conditions – NHS Speech and Hearing Therapy, or no treatment.
The NHS treatment is a less intensive individualised programme delivered by a therapist over six to eight sessions, rather than 16 sessions over four weeks like LSVT LOUD, to train people with Parkinson’s to use their voice at a more normal level.
Results showed that people who received LSVT LOUD achieved and maintained significantly better outcomes compared to the other two groups.
Professor Catherine Thackray, from the School of Health Sciences and NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, who led the study, commented: “The results clearly show that the LSVT LOUD method implemented in this way is both effective and cost-effective – the NHS method as currently implemented is not.”
“Now we have this data and we need to look at other factors and determine if different treatments are delivered differently and whether this further impacts the outcomes.”
