Speech treatment improves dysarthria in multisystemic ataxia: a rater-blinded, controlled pilot-study in ARSACS

Redenlab partnered with investigators in Australia and Germany to conduct dysarthria treatment trial in ataxia published in Journal of Neurology

Abstract: We aimed to provide proof-of-principle evidence that intensive home-based speech treatment can improve dysarthria in complex multisystemic degenerative ataxias, exemplified by autosomal recessive spastic ataxia Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS). Feasibility and piloting efficacy of speech training specifically tailored to cerebellar dysarthria was examined through a 4-week program in seven patients with rater-blinded assessment of intelligibility (primary outcome) and naturalness and acoustic measures of speech (secondary outcomes) performed 4 weeks before, immediately prior to, and directly after training (intraindividual control design). Speech intelligibility and naturalness improved post treatment. This provides piloting evidence that ataxia-tailored speech treatment might be effective in degenerative cerebellar disease.

See here for study details

Related Post

  • Posted on 21 July, 2025
    Could a 10-second speech test repeating “pa,” “ta,” “ka” be the key to earlier detection of Alzheimer’s risk? Our new...
    • Posted on 26 June, 2025
      Pain is deeply personal, yet universally expressed through speech. But what if speech isn’t just a way we describe pain,...
      • Posted on 17 June, 2025
        A new study published in the European Journal of Human Genetics provides the first systematic analysis of speech and language...