LSVT Treatment in Ataxia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effectiveness of LSVT in improving communication in people with Friedreich’s Ataxia
IRAS ID
224092
Contact name
Anja Lowit
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Strathclyde University, Research and Knowledge Exchange Services
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Ataxic dysarthria is a motor-speech disorder associated with cerebellar dysfunction. There are currently very few studies that have attempted to find an effective treatment for these problems, and none have been properly designed to be able to advise speech and language therapists on how best to help a person with ataxia.
We propose to investigate an approach called Lee Silverman Voice Treatment that has shown good results with people with Parkinson’s Disease. It has also helped with a few other patient groups, including someone with ataxic dysarthria. We plan to provide this treatment to around 20 people with Friedreich’s ataxia, and to see whether it improves their communication and to find out what they think about the therapy process. We will look at features such as how fast and clear they speak, what their voice sounds like, and how confident they are in participating in different communication situations with familiar and unfamiliar people. In addition, we will interview them about their views on the treatment approach, e.g. whether it was too intensive or tiring, whether they could follow the exercises on their own, etc.
Because participants are likely to be spread across the UK we propose to provide the treatment via Skype. This has been tried before and therapy was just as effective as with face to face sessions. It has the added benefit that participants do not need to travel to clinic and it therefore reduces fatigue.
Our study would be the first to investigate a larger number of people with an approach that already has some evidence for its effectiveness in other patient groups. We hope to be able to show that LSVT can also improve communication in people with ataxic dysarthria, which will hopefully lead to the treatment being offered more frequently through the NHS.REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SC/0161
Date of REC Opinion
10 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion