Voice Quality and Orofacial Strength as Outcome of Levodopa Effectiveness in Patients with Early Idiopathic Parkinson Disease: A Preliminary Report

摘要

Introduction. Sixty to 90% of patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD) developed early dysphonia and subtle speech impairment, which is usually related to orofacial muscular dysfunctions. The aim of this preliminary study is to assess the usefulness of voice quality and orofacial strength (involved in speech) as outcome of levodopa challenge test used for the IPD diagnosis.