Phonological Characteristics in Parkinson's Disease

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the phonological characteristics of speech in patients with Parkinsonism, and to compare with the healthy elderly adults. METHOD: By measuring the sustained phonation, diadochokinesis, mean intonation difference (average difference in fundamental frequency between the last syllables of interrogative and declarative sentences), and speech rate using the IBM Speech Viewer III system in the seventeen patients with Parkinsonism and fifteen healthy elderly adults. RESULTS: (1) Ability to prolong vowels and intonation values were reduced in the Parkinsonism group as compared to the control group, (2) The diadochokinetic rate and speech rate failed to differentiate between two groups. CONCLUSION: The analysis of the phonological characteristics of speech in patients with Parkinsonism was valuable for the evaluation and treatment of dysarthria.

Evaluation of Osteoporosis Using the Biochemical Markers

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and correlate three biochemical markers of bone turnover and bone mineral density in the lumbar spine. METHOD: Eighty seven adults with the low back pain(45 men and 42 women) were enrolled in this study. Bone mineral density in the lumbar spine was evaluated by a quantitative computed tomography. Serum osteocalcin, serum alkaline phosphatase, and urinary deoxypyridinoline were measured in the early morning. RESULTS: The mean serum osteocalcin values were 5.61 ng/ml in men and 5.68 ng/ml in women. The mean urinary deoxypyridinoline values were 6.54 nM/mM.Cr. in men and 10.0 nM/mM.Cr. in women. Among women, the values of serum osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase were significantly higher in the postmenopausal group than the premenopausal group(p<0.01). And, they were inversely related to bone mineral density in lumbar spine. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the measurement of serum osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, and urinary deoxypyridinoline can be used as indirect indicators of the current bone status, and can be effectively used in the evaluation and treatment of osteoporosis.

Pressure Threshold, Grip and Pinch Strength in Female Telephone Operators

The purpose of this study was to estimate mean pressure thresholds over several skeletal muscles, grip and pinch strengths in female telephone operators. Pressure thresholds on muscles of neck and shoulder were measured with a pressure algometer, and grip and pinch strength were measured with a Jamar dynamometer and a Jamar pinch gauge in 904 female telephone operators. The pressure threshold was highest in the supraspinatus and lowest in the cervical paraspinals. There was no statistically significant difference between right and left corresponding muscles. The mean grip strength was 22.29 kg in the right hand, 21.97 kg in the left hand. The mean tip pinch strength was 0.56 kg in the right, 0.51 kg in the left. The mean lateral pinch strength was 2.21 kg in the right, 2.12 kg in the left. The mean palmar pinch strength was 1.82 kg in the right, 1.66 kg in the left. There was no significant correlation between grip, pinch strength and age(p>0.05). There were positive correlations between height, weight and grip strength. There were positive correlations between exposure duration to visual display terminal and pinch strength.