Department of Neurology, Knappschaftskrankenhaus, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e32132. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032132. Epub 2012 Feb 28.
The aim of the current study was to survey if vowel articulation in speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD) shows specific changes in the course of the disease.
67 patients with PD (42 male) and 40 healthy speakers (20 male) were tested and retested after an average time interval of 34 months. Participants had to read a given text as source for subsequent calculation of the triangular vowel space area (tVSA) and vowel articulation index (VAI). Measurement of tVSA and VAI were based upon analysis of the first and second formant of the vowels /α/, /i/and /u/ extracted from defined words within the text.
At first visit, VAI values were reduced in male and female PD patients as compared to the control group, and showed a further decrease at the second visit. Only in female Parkinsonian speakers, VAI was correlated to overall speech impairment based upon perceptual impression. VAI and tVSA were correlated to gait impairment, but no correlations were seen between VAI and global motor impairment or overall disease duration. tVSA showed a similar reduction in the PD as compared to the control group and was also found to further decline between first and second examination in female, but not in male speakers with PD.
Measurement of VAI seems to be superior to tVSA in the description of impaired vowel articulation and its further decline in the course of the disease in PD. Since impairment of vowel articulation was found to be independent from global motor function but correlated to gait dysfunction, measurement of vowel articulation might have a potential to serve as a marker of axial disease progression.
本研究旨在调查帕金森病（PD）患者的元音发音是否在疾病过程中出现特定变化。
67 名 PD 患者（42 名男性）和 40 名健康对照者（20 名男性）接受了测试，并在平均 34 个月的时间间隔后进行了复测。参与者必须阅读给定的文本，作为后续计算三角元音空间面积（tVSA）和元音发音指数（VAI）的源。tVSA 和 VAI 的测量基于从文本中定义的单词中提取的元音 /α/、/i/和 /u/的第一和第二共振峰的分析。
首次就诊时，男性和女性 PD 患者的 VAI 值均低于对照组，且在第二次就诊时进一步降低。只有在女性帕金森病患者中，VAI 与基于感知印象的整体语音障碍相关。VAI 和 tVSA 与步态障碍相关，但 VAI 与整体运动障碍或总病程无相关性。与对照组相比，PD 患者的 tVSA 也出现相似的降低，且在女性患者中，在首次和第二次检查之间也发现进一步下降，但在男性 PD 患者中则未发现。
在描述 PD 中元音发音障碍及其在疾病过程中的进一步下降方面，VAI 的测量似乎优于 tVSA。由于元音发音障碍与整体运动功能无关，但与步态障碍相关，因此元音发音的测量可能具有作为轴性疾病进展标志物的潜力。
