{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Speech rate in Parkinson's disease: A controlled study.
{Author}: Martínez-Sánchez F;Meilán JJ;Carro J;Gómez Íñiguez C;Millian-Morell L;Pujante Valverde IM;López-Alburquerque T;López DE;
{Journal}: Neurologia
{Volume}: 31
{Issue}: 7
{Year}: Sep 2016
{Factor}: 5.486
{DOI}: 10.1016/j.nrl.2014.12.002
{Abstract}: <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Speech disturbances will affect most patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) over the course of the disease. The origin and severity of these symptoms are of clinical and diagnostic interest.<BR><B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To evaluate the clinical pattern of speech impairment in PD patients and identify significant differences in speech rate and articulation compared to control subjects. Speech rate and articulation in a reading task were measured using an automatic analytical method.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>A total of 39 PD patients in the 'on' state and 45 age-and sex-matched asymptomatic controls participated in the study. None of the patients experienced dyskinesias or motor fluctuations during the test.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The patients with PD displayed a significant reduction in speech and articulation rates; there were no significant correlations between the studied speech parameters and patient characteristics such as L-dopa dose, duration of the disorder, age, and UPDRS III scores and Hoehn & Yahr scales.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Patients with PD show a characteristic pattern of declining speech rate. These results suggest that in PD, disfluencies are the result of the movement disorder affecting the physiology of speech production systems.