Did the speech of patients with Myasthenia Gravis decline over 4 years? / Há declínio na fala de pacientes com Miastenia Gravis ao longo de 4 anos?

ABSTRACT Purpose To compare the speech and voice patterns of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients over four years, and correlate the results with clinical aspects of the disease. Methods Data was collected for 4 years. The clinical assessment tools included the Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis (QMG) score, the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) clinical classification, and the Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life 15-item Scale (MG-QoL). To assess speech, the recorded speaking tasks were analyzed acoustically and given auditory-perceptual ratings. Sex (equal distribution) and age (p=0.949) were used as matching criteria in the final sample, which consisted of 10 individuals in the MG group (MGG) and 10 individuals in the control group (CG). Results After 4 years, the MG participants presented stable health status, increased mild and moderate dysarthria (from 40% to 90% of the subjects), and a significant deterioration in the respiration, phonation, and articulation subsystems. The acoustic analysis showed a decline in articulatory patterns (speech rate p=0.047, articulation rate p=0.007, mean syllable duration p=0.007) and vocal quality (increased jitter p=0.022). In the follow-up comparison, there was a significant difference between the phonation variables (shimmer and harmonic-to-noise ratio) of the MGG and CG. Conclusion The MG patients presented a decline in speech over four years and an increase in mild and moderate dysarthria. Despite presenting stable health status, their respiratory, phonatory, and articulatory subsystems worsened. There was no correlation between speech patterns and clinical characteristics of the disease (severity and motor scale).

RESUMO Objetivo Comparar o padrão de fala e voz de indivíduos com Miastenia Gravis (MG) em um intervalo de quatro anos e correlacionar com aspectos clínicos da doença. Método A coleta de dados foi realizada ao longo de 4 anos. A avaliação clínica foi composta pelo Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis Score (QMGS), pela Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America Classification (MGFA) e pela escala de qualidade de vida para Miastenia Gravis (MG-QOL). A avaliação da fala foi composta por gravação de tarefas, análise perceptivo-auditiva e análise acústica. A amostra final foi composta por 10 indivíduos em MG e 10 indivíduos no grupo controle (GC), pareados por sexo (distribuição igualitária) e idade (p=0,949). Resultados Após 4 anos, os indivíduos com MG apresentaram estabilidade clínica, aumento do diagnóstico de disartria leve e moderada (de 40% para 90% dos sujeitos) e diminuição significativa no desempenho dos subsistemas da fala: respiração, fonação e articulação. Na análise acústica, houve declínio do padrão articulatório (taxa de fala p=0,047, taxa de articulação p=0,007, duração média das sílabas p=0,007) e qualidade vocal (jitter aumentado p=0,022). Houve diferença significativa nas variáveis fonatórias (shimmer e harmonic-to-noise ratio) entre os grupos MG e GC na comparação do seguimento. Conclusão Indivíduos com MG apresentaram declínio no padrão de fala em um intervalo de quatro anos, com aumento no número de disártricos (leve e moderado). Mesmo com a estabilidade da doença, houve piora dos subsistemas respiratório, fonatório e articulatório. Não houve correlação entre o padrão de fala e as características clínicas da doença (gravidade e escala motora).

Articulatory speech measures can be related to the severity of multiple sclerosis.

Background: Dysarthria is one of the most frequent communication disorders in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), with an estimated prevalence of around 50%. However, it is unclear if there is a relationship between dysarthria and the severity or duration of the disease. Objective: Describe the speech pattern in MS, correlate with clinical data, and compare with controls. Methods: A group of MS patients (n = 73) matched to healthy controls (n = 37) by sex and age. Individuals with neurological and/or systemic conditions that could interfere with speech were excluded. MS group clinical data were obtained through the analysis of medical records. The speech assessment consisted of auditory-perceptual and speech acoustic analysis, from recording the following speech tasks: phonation and breathing (sustained vowel/a/); prosody (sentences with different intonation patterns) and articulation (diadochokinesis; spontaneous speech; diphthong/iu/repeatedly). Results: In MS, 72.6% of the individuals presented mild dysarthria, with alterations in speech subsystems: phonation, breathing, resonance, and articulation. In the acoustic analysis, individuals with MS were significantly worse than the control group (CG) in the variables: standard deviation of the fundamental frequency (p = 0.001) and maximum phonation time (p = 0.041). In diadochokinesis, individuals with MS had a lower number of syllables, duration, and phonation time, but larger pauses per seconds, and in spontaneous speech, a high number of pauses were evidenced as compared to CG. Correlations were found between phonation time in spontaneous speech and the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (r = - 0.238, p = 0.043) and phonation ratio in spontaneous speech and EDSS (r = -0.265, p = 0.023), which indicates a correlation between the number of pauses during spontaneous speech and the severity of the disease. Conclusion: The speech profile in MS patients was mild dysarthria, with a decline in the phonatory, respiratory, resonant, and articulatory subsystems of speech, respectively, in order of prevalence. The increased number of pauses during speech and lower rates of phonation ratio can reflect the severity of MS.

Differences in spontaneous speech fluency between Parkinson's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3.

Background: The basal ganglia and cerebellum both have a role in speech production although the effect of isolated involvement of these structures on speech fluency remains unclear. Objective: The study aimed to assess the differences in the articulatory pattern in patients with cerebellar vs. basal ganglia disorders. Methods: A total of 20 individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD), 20 with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), and 40 controls (control group, CG) were included. Diadochokinesis (DDK) and monolog tasks were collected. Results: The only variable that distinguished SCA3 carriers from the CG was the number of syllables in the monolog, with SCA3 patients of a significantly lower number. For patients with PD, the number of syllables, phonation time, DDK, and monolog were significantly lower than for CG. Patients with PD were significantly worse compared to patients with SCA3 in the number of syllables and phonation time in DDK, and phonation time in monolog. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between the number of syllables in the monolog and the MDS-UPDRS III for participants with PD, and the Friedreich Ataxia Rating Scale for participants with SCA3 suggesting a relationship between speech and general motor functioning. Conclusion: The monolog task is better at discriminating individuals with cerebellar vs. Parkinson's diseases as well as differentiating healthy control and was related to the severity of the disease.

Relato da experiência da atuação fonoaudiológica em telessaúde em pacientes neurológicos com disfagia e disartria durante a pandemia de Covid-19 / Experience report of speech therapy in telehealth with neurological patients with dysphagia and dysarthria during the Covid-19 pandemic / Reporte de experiencia de desempeño logopédico en telesalud en pacientes neurológicos con disfagia y disartria durante la pandemia de Covid-19

Introdução: Devido à COVID-19, os pacientes com doenças neurológicas deixaram de frequentar presencialmente as consultas fonoaudiológicas em ambulatórios. Objetivo: Descrever o relato da experiência fonoaudiológica em pacientes com doença neurológica com disartria e/ou disfagia durante a pandemia da COVID-19 através da telessaúde. Método: Trata-se de um relato de experiência. Foram incluídos pacientes do ambulatório de fonoaudiologia de um hospital universitário, que ficaram privados do acompanhamento fonoaudiológico em período pandêmico e que tinham diagnóstico de disfagia e/ou disartria (prévios à pandemia). No total, 43 pacientes foram convidados a participar do estudo. Os indivíduos foram separados de acordo com seu diagnóstico fonoaudiológico: disfagia, disartria e disfagia/disartria. No início, todos foram reavaliados em videochamadas: disfagia (Northwestern dysphagia patient check sheet, Escala Funcional de Ingestão Via Oral e Instrumento de Autoavaliação da Alimentação); disartria (coleta de fala e questionário de autopercepção Radbould Oral Inventory Motor for Parkinson's disease). Após, os pacientes foram alocados aleatoriamente: teleatendimento fonoaudiológico por quatro semanas consecutivas, sendo o outro grupo controle, sem intervenções e/ou orientações. Todos foram reavaliados para a comparação pré e pós-acompanhamento fonoaudiológico. Resultados: Nove participantes concluíram todas as etapas do estudo, sendo 6 (66,66%) homens. A média de idade foi de 60,44 anos (±16,13). Os participantes possuíam diagnóstico médico de doença neurológica, sendo 2 neurogenética (22,22%), 5 neurodegenerativa (55,5%) e 2 neurológicas (22,22%). Não foram observadas diferenças descritivas entre os grupos nas avaliações pré e pós-intervenção. A perda na amostra aconteceu devido à falta de dispositivos tecnológicos e à sobrecarga dos cuidadores. Conclusões: A experiência em tele fonoaudiologia, apesar de ter sido positiva, revelou a dificuldade da sua implementação em pacientes neurológicos de baixa condições sócio financeiras e educacional.

Introduction: Due to COVID-19, patients with neurological disease no longer attend face-to-face speech therapy consultations in outpatient clinics. Objective: To describe the report of the speech therapy experience patients with neurological disease with dysarthria and/or dysphagia during the COVID-19 pandemic through telehealth. Method: This is an experience report. Patients from the speech therapy outpatient clinic of a university hospital who were deprived of speech therapy during a pandemic period and had a diagnosis of dysphagia and/or dysarthria (prior to the pandemic) were included. In total, 43 patients were invited to participate in the study. Individuals were separated according to their speech-language diagnosis: dysphagia, dysarthria, and dysphagia/dysarthria. In the beginning, all were reassessed in video calls: dysphagia (Northwestern dysphagia patient check sheet, Functional Oral Intake Scale, and Food Self-Assessment Instrument); dysarthria (speech collection and self-perception questionnaire Radbould Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson's disease). Afterward, the patients were randomly allocated: speech therapy telecare for four consecutive weeks, with the other being a control group, without interventions and/or guidance. All were reassessed for comparison before and after speech therapy follow-up. Results:Nine participants completed all stages of the study, 6 (66.66%) men. The mean age was 60.44 years (±16.13). Participants had a medical diagnosis of neurological disease, 2 of which were neurogenetic (22.22%), five neurodegenerative (55.5%), and two neurologic (22.22%). No descriptive differences were observed between groups in pre- and post-intervention assessments. The loss in the sample happened due to the lack of technological devices and the overload of caregivers. Conclusions: The experience in telehealth was positive, revealing the difficulty of its implementation in neurological patients with low socio-financial and educational conditions.

Introducción: Debido al COVID-19, los pacientes con enfermedades neurologicas ya no asisten a consultas de logopedia presenciales en consultas externas. Objetivo: Describir el relato de la experiencia fonoaudiológica en pacientes con enfermedades neurologicas con disartria y/o disfagia durante la pandemia de COVID-19 a través de telesalud. Método: Este es un relato de experiencia. Se incluyeron pacientes de la consulta externa de logopedia de un hospital universitario, que fueron privados de logopedia durante un período de pandemia y que tenían diagnóstico de disfagia y/o disartria (previo a la pandemia). En total, 43 pacientes fueron invitados a participar en el estudio. Los individuos se separaron según su diagnóstico del habla y el lenguaje: disfagia, disartria y disfagia/disartria. Al principio, todos fueron reevaluados en videollamadas: disfagia (Northwestern dysphagia patient check sheet), Escala de ingesta oral funcional e Instrumento de autoevaluación de alimentos); disartria (cuestionario de recogida de voz y autopercepción Radbould Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson's disease). Posteriormente, los pacientes fueron asignados aleatoriamente: teleasistencia logopédica durante cuatro semanas consecutivas, siendo el otro grupo control, sin intervenciones y/u orientaciones. Todos fueron reevaluados para compararlos antes y después del seguimiento con logopedia. Resultados: Nueve participantes completaron todas las etapas del estudio, 6 (66,66%) hombres. La edad media fue de 60,44 años (±16,13). Los participantes tenían diagnóstico médico de enfermedad neurológica, 2 de ellas neurogenéticas (22,22%), 5 neurodegenerativas (55,5%) y 2 neurológica (22,22%). No se observaron diferencias descriptivas entre los grupos en las evaluaciones previas y posteriores a la intervención. La pérdida en la muestra ocurrió por la falta de dispositivos tecnológicos y la sobrecarga de cuidadores. Conclusiones: La experiencia en telefonoaudiología, a pesar de ser positiva, reveló la dificultad de su implementación en pacientes neurológicos de baja condición socioeconómica y educativa.