Prof Anja Lowit, Speech and Language Therapist based Strathclyde University, Glasgow, together with Prof Marios Hadjivassiliou from the Sheffield Ataxia Centre have published a new research paper looking at a potential form of speech therapy for people with the cerebellar form of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA-C). Prof Lowit has been awarded a number of grants from Ataxia UK for her work trialling speech therapy approaches in ataxias which have led to a successful speech therapy course offered via Ataxia UK.
MSA-C is a progressive neurological condition leading to impaired co-ordination, slowed movement and/or rigidity. Speech difficulties (known as dysarthria) are an early feature of MSA. They can lead to negative impacts on daily life, such as social withdrawal. There have so far been a lack of clinical trials investigating speech therapy in those with MSA. This study looked at a speech therapy treatment approach called ClearSpeechTogether, in people with MSA-C through a randomised controlled trial comparing this treatment with the standard speech and language therapy offered by the NHS.
11 participants with MSA-C were randomised to the ClearSpeechTogether group and 9 to the standard therapy group. Each group underwent speech therapy online over video call, with the ClearSpeechTogether group having four 1-hour individual therapy sessions over two weeks, followed by four weeks of daily patient-led group speech therapy. The standard therapy group had one hour of speech therapy per week for 6 weeks.
The results showed that ClearSpeechTogether is an accessible form of speech therapy for people with MSA-C. Both the ClearSpeechTogether and standard therapy groups saw improvements in their confidence whilst communicating as well as their ability to participate in conversations after undergoing speech therapy. The researchers saw that people with MSA-C can benefit from speech therapy even at more severe stages of their disease progression. Further randomised trials with larger numbers of participants are needed to understand which is the best speech therapy approach for people with MSA-C. Read the paper here.
Prof Lowit and Prof Hadjivassiliou reflect on the research,
We are delighted that our latest study provides further evidence of the suitability of ClearSpeechTogether, a speech therapy approach developed with funding from Ataxia UK, for the ataxia community. Feedback from our two pilot studies as well as from people taking part in the Ataxia UK funded groups has been positive, highlighting improvements in speech, and more importantly confidence to participate in communication. This is particularly encouraging given the current lack of evidence based treatment approaches for people with ataxia. We hope to be able to test the approach further in the near future to be able to offer it to the wider community through the NHS.
