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Dubbioso R, Spisto M, Verde L, Iuzzolino VV, Senerchia G, Salvatore E, De Pietro G, De Falco I, Sannino G. Voice signals database of ALS patients with different dysarthria severity and healthy controls. Sci Data 2024; 11:800. [PMID: 39030186 PMCID: PMC11271596 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03597-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper describes a new publicly-available database of VOiCe signals acquired in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients (VOC-ALS) and healthy controls performing different speech tasks. This dataset consists of 1224 voice signals recorded from 153 participants: 51 healthy controls (32 males and 19 females) and 102 ALS patients (65 males and 37 females) with different severity of dysarthria. Each subject's voice was recorded using a smartphone application (Vox4Health) while performing several vocal tasks, including a sustained phonation of the vowels /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ and /pa/, /ta/, /ka/ syllable repetition. Basic derived speech metrics such as harmonics-to-noise ratio, mean and standard deviation of fundamental frequency (F0), jitter and shimmer were calculated. The F0 standard deviation of vowels and syllables showed an excellent ability to identify people with ALS and to discriminate the different severity of dysarthria. These data represent the most comprehensive database of voice signals in ALS and form a solid basis for research on the recognition of voice impairment in ALS patients for use in clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raffaele Dubbioso
- Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, 80131, Italy
| | - Myriam Spisto
- Department of Psychology of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, 81100, Italy
| | - Laura Verde
- Department of Mathematics and Physics of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, 81100, Italy
| | - Valentina Virginia Iuzzolino
- Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, 80131, Italy
| | - Gianmaria Senerchia
- Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive Sciences and Odontostomatology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, 80131, Italy
| | - Elena Salvatore
- Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, 80131, Italy
| | - Giuseppe De Pietro
- Department of Information Sciences and Technologies, Pegaso University, Naples, 80143, Italy
| | - Ivanoe De Falco
- National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for High-Performance Computing and Networking (ICAR), Naples, 80131, Italy
| | - Giovanna Sannino
- National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Institute for High-Performance Computing and Networking (ICAR), Naples, 80131, Italy.
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Cordella C, Di Filippo L, Kolachalama VB, Kiran S. Connected Speech Fluency in Poststroke and Progressive Aphasia: A Scoping Review of Quantitative Approaches and Features. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2024; 33:2091-2128. [PMID: 38652820 PMCID: PMC11253646 DOI: 10.1044/2024_ajslp-23-00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE Speech fluency has important diagnostic implications for individuals with poststroke aphasia (PSA) as well as primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and quantitative assessment of connected speech has emerged as a widely used approach across both etiologies. The purpose of this review was to provide a clearer picture on the range, nature, and utility of individual quantitative speech/language measures and methods used to assess connected speech fluency in PSA and PPA, and to compare approaches across etiologies. METHOD We conducted a scoping review of literature published between 2012 and 2022 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Forty-five studies were included in the review. Literature was charted and summarized by etiology and characteristics of included patient populations and method(s) used for derivation and analysis of speech/language features. For a subset of included articles, we also charted the individual quantitative speech/language features reported and the level of significance of reported results. RESULTS Results showed that similar methodological approaches have been used to quantify connected speech fluency in both PSA and PPA. Two hundred nine individual speech-language features were analyzed in total, with low levels of convergence across etiology on specific features but greater agreement on the most salient features. The most useful features for differentiating fluent from nonfluent aphasia in both PSA and PPA were features related to overall speech quantity, speech rate, or grammatical competence. CONCLUSIONS Data from this review demonstrate the feasibility and utility of quantitative approaches to index connected speech fluency in PSA and PPA. We identified emergent trends toward automated analysis methods and data-driven approaches, which offer promising avenues for clinical translation of quantitative approaches. There is a further need for improved consensus on which subset of individual features might be most clinically useful for assessment and monitoring of fluency. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25537237.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Cordella
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, MA
| | - Lauren Di Filippo
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, MA
| | - Vijaya B. Kolachalama
- Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, MA
- Department of Computer Science and Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, Boston University, MA
| | - Swathi Kiran
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, MA
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de Araújo CM, de Alcântara C, Alencar MA, da Gama NAS, Cruzeiro MM, França MC, Jaeger A, Camargos ST, Machado TH, de Souza LC. Language impairment in sporadic and familial (type 8) amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A comparative study. Muscle Nerve 2024; 70:130-139. [PMID: 38738747 DOI: 10.1002/mus.28109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/AIMS Language is frequently affected in patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS), with reduced performance in naming, syntactic comprehension, grammatical expression, and orthographic processing. However, the language profile of patients with familial type 8 ALS (ALS8), linked to p.P56S VAPB mutation, remains unclear. We investigated language in patients with ALS8 by examining their auditory comprehension and verbal production. METHODS We included three groups of participants: (1) patients with sALS (n = 20), (2) patients with familial ALS8 (n = 22), and (3) healthy controls (n = 21). The groups were matched for age, sex, and education level. All participants underwent a comprehensive language battery, including the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, the reduced Token test, letter fluency, categorical fluency (animals), word definition from the Cambridge Semantic Memory Research Battery, and a narrative discourse analysis. Participants also were evaluated using Addenbrooke's Cognitive Exam-Revised Version, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised. RESULTS Compared to controls, sALS and ALS8 patients had impaired performance on oral (syntactic and phonological processing) comprehension and inappropriate discourse cohesion. sALS and ALS8 did not differ in any language measure. There was no correlation between language scores and functional and psychiatric scales. DISCUSSION ALS8 patients exhibit language deficits that are independent of motor features. These findings are consistent with the current evidence suggesting that ALS8 has prominent non-motor features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline M de Araújo
- Postgraduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Cássia de Alcântara
- Postgraduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | - Natália A S da Gama
- Postgraduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Marcelo M Cruzeiro
- Department of Internal Medicine, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
| | | | - Antônio Jaeger
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Sarah T Camargos
- Postgraduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Thais H Machado
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, School of Medicine, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Fonoaudiológicas, Departamento de Fonoaudiologia, School of Medicine, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Cruz de Souza
- Postgraduate Program in Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Bouvier L, McKinlay S, Truong J, Genge A, Dupré N, Dionne A, Kalra S, Yunusova Y. Speech timing and monosyllabic diadochokinesis measures in the assessment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Canadian French. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2024; 26:267-277. [PMID: 37272348 PMCID: PMC10696137 DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2023.2214706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE The primary objective of this study was to determine if speech and pause measures obtained using a passage reading task and timing measures from a monosyllabic diadochokinesis (DDK) task differ across speakers of Canadian French diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) presenting with and without bulbar symptoms, and healthy controls. The secondary objective was to determine if these measures can reflect the severity of bulbar symptoms. METHOD A total of 29 Canadian French speakers with ALS (classified as bulbar symptomatic [n = 14] or pre-symptomatic [n = 15]) and 17 age-matched healthy controls completed a passage reading task and a monosyllabic DDK task (/pa/ and /ta/), for up to three follow-up visits. Measures of speaking rate, total duration, speech duration, and pause events were extracted from the passage reading recordings using a semi-automated speech and pause analysis procedure. Manual analysis of DDK recordings provided measures of DDK rate and variability. RESULT Group comparisons revealed significant differences (p = < .05) between the symptomatic group and the pre-symptomatic and control groups for all passage measures and DDK rates. Only the DDK rate in /ta/ differentiated the pre-symptomatic and control groups. Repeated measures correlations revealed moderate correlations (rrm = > 0.40; p = < 0.05) between passage measures of total duration, speaking rate, speech duration, and number of pauses, and ALSFRS-R total and bulbar scores, as well as between DDK rate and ALSFRS-R total score. CONCLUSION Speech and pause measures in passage and timing measures in monosyllabic DDK tasks might be suitable for monitoring bulbar functional symptoms in French speakers with ALS, but more work is required to identify which measures are sensitive to the earliest stages of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liziane Bouvier
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Scotia McKinlay
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Justin Truong
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Angela Genge
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital – The Neuro, Montréal, Canada
| | - Nicolas Dupré
- Neurosciences axis, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Annie Dionne
- Neurosciences axis, CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Sanjay Kalra
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- Division of Neurology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Yana Yunusova
- Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, Canada
- University Health Network—Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto, Canada
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Geronimo A. Turning up the volume on neuromuscular cough medicine. Muscle Nerve 2024; 69:129-130. [PMID: 38037436 DOI: 10.1002/mus.28016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
See article on pages 213–217 in this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Geronimo
- Neurology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
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Nevler N, Cho S, Cousins KAQ, Ash S, Olm CA, Shellikeri S, Agmon G, Gonzalez-Recober C, Xie SX, Barker MS, Manoochehri M, Mcmillan CT, Irwin DJ, Massimo L, Dratch L, Cheran G, Huey ED, Cosentino SA, Van Deerlin VM, Liberman MY, Grossman M. Changes in Digital Speech Measures in Asymptomatic Carriers of Pathogenic Variants Associated With Frontotemporal Degeneration. Neurology 2024; 102:e207926. [PMID: 38165329 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000207926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Clinical trials developing therapeutics for frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) focus on pathogenic variant carriers at preclinical stages. Objective, quantitative clinical assessment tools are needed to track stability and delayed disease onset. Natural speech can serve as an accessible, cost-effective assessment tool. We aimed to identify early changes in the natural speech of FTD pathogenic variant carriers before they become symptomatic. METHODS In this cohort study, speech samples of picture descriptions were collected longitudinally from healthy participants in observational studies at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University between 2007 and 2020. Participants were asymptomatic but at risk for familial FTD. Status as "carrier" or "noncarrier" was based on screening for known pathogenic variants in the participant's family. Thirty previously validated digital speech measures derived from automatic speech processing pipelines were selected a priori based on previous studies in patients with FTD and compared between asymptomatic carriers and noncarriers cross-sectionally and longitudinally. RESULTS A total of 105 participants, all asymptomatic, included 41 carriers: 12 men [30%], mean age 43 ± 13 years; education, 16 ± 2 years; MMSE 29 ± 1; and 64 noncarriers: 27 men [42%]; mean age, 48 ± 14 years; education, 15 ± 3 years; MMSE 29 ± 1. We identified 4 speech measures that differed between carriers and noncarriers at baseline: mean speech segment duration (mean difference -0.28 seconds, 95% CI -0.55 to -0.02, p = 0.04); word frequency (mean difference 0.07, 95% CI 0.008-0.14, p = 0.03); word ambiguity (mean difference 0.02, 95% CI 0.0008-0.05, p = 0.04); and interjection count per 100 words (mean difference 0.33, 95% CI 0.07-0.59, p = 0.01). Three speech measures deteriorated over time in carriers only: particle count per 100 words per month (β = -0.02, 95% CI -0.03 to -0.004, p = 0.009); total narrative production time in seconds per month (β = -0.24, 95% CI -0.37 to -0.12, p < 0.001); and total number of words per month (β = -0.48, 95% CI -0.78 to -0.19, p = 0.002) including in 3 carriers who later converted to symptomatic disease. DISCUSSION Using automatic processing pipelines, we identified early changes in the natural speech of FTD pathogenic variant carriers in the presymptomatic stage. These findings highlight the potential utility of natural speech as a digital clinical outcome assessment tool in FTD, where objective and quantifiable measures for abnormal behavior and language are lacking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Nevler
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Sunghye Cho
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Katheryn A Q Cousins
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Sharon Ash
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Christopher A Olm
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Sanjana Shellikeri
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Galit Agmon
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Carmen Gonzalez-Recober
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Sharon X Xie
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Megan S Barker
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Masood Manoochehri
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Corey T Mcmillan
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - David J Irwin
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Lauren Massimo
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Laynie Dratch
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Gayathri Cheran
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Edward D Huey
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Stephanie A Cosentino
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Vivianna M Van Deerlin
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Mark Y Liberman
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
| | - Murray Grossman
- From the Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, (N.N., K.A.Q.C., S.A., C.A.O., S.S., G.A., C.G.-R., C.T.M., D.J.I., L.M., L.D., M.G.), Linguistic Data Consortium, Department of Linguistics (S.C., M.Y.L.), Penn Image Computing and Science Laboratory, Department of Radiology (C.A.O.), Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics (S.X.X.), and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (V.M.V.D.), Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain (M.S.B.,M.M., G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.); and Department of Neurology (G.C., E.D.H., S.A.C.) and Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center (S.A.C.), Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York
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7
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Robin J, Xu M, Kaufman LD, Simpson W, McCaughey S, Tatton N, Wolfus C, Ward M. Development of a Speech-based Composite Score for Remotely Quantifying Language Changes in Frontotemporal Dementia. Cogn Behav Neurol 2023; 36:237-248. [PMID: 37878468 PMCID: PMC10683975 DOI: 10.1097/wnn.0000000000000356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Changes to speech and language are common symptoms across different subtypes of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). These changes affect the ability to communicate, impacting everyday functions. Accurately assessing these changes may help clinicians to track disease progression and detect response to treatment. OBJECTIVE To determine which aspects of speech show significant change over time and to develop a novel composite score for tracking speech and language decline in individuals with FTD. METHOD We recruited individuals with FTD to complete remote digital speech assessments based on a picture description task. Speech samples were analyzed to derive acoustic and linguistic measures of speech and language, which were tested for longitudinal change over the course of the study and were used to compute a novel composite score. RESULTS Thirty-six (16 F, 20 M; M age = 61.3 years) individuals were enrolled in the study, with 27 completing a follow-up assessment 12 months later. We identified eight variables reflecting different aspects of language that showed longitudinal decline in the FTD clinical syndrome subtypes and developed a novel composite score based on these variables. The resulting composite score demonstrated a significant effect of change over time, high test-retest reliability, and a correlation with standard scores on various other speech tasks. CONCLUSION Remote digital speech assessments have the potential to characterize speech and language abilities in individuals with FTD, reducing the burden of clinical assessments while providing a novel measure of speech and language abilities that is sensitive to disease and relevant to everyday function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Robin
- Winterlight Labs, Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mengdan Xu
- Winterlight Labs, Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - William Simpson
- Winterlight Labs, Incorporated, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Michael Ward
- Alector, Incorporated, San Francisco, California
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8
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Kim JA, Jang H, Choi Y, Min YG, Hong YH, Sung JJ, Choi SJ. Subclinical articulatory changes of vowel parameters in Korean amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients with perceptually normal voices. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0292460. [PMID: 37831677 PMCID: PMC10575489 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The available quantitative methods for evaluating bulbar dysfunction in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are limited. We aimed to characterize vowel properties in Korean ALS patients, investigate associations between vowel parameters and clinical features of ALS, and analyze subclinical articulatory changes of vowel parameters in those with perceptually normal voices. Forty-three patients with ALS (27 with dysarthria and 16 without dysarthria) and 20 healthy controls were prospectively collected in the study. Dysarthria was assessed using the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) speech subscores, with any loss of 4 points indicating the presence of dysarthria. The structured speech samples were recorded and analyzed using Praat software. For three corner vowels (/a/, /i/, and /u/), data on the vowel duration, fundamental frequency, frequencies of the first two formants (F1 and F2), harmonics-to-noise ratio, vowel space area (VSA), and vowel articulation index (VAI) were extracted from the speech samples. Corner vowel durations were significantly longer in ALS patients with dysarthria than in healthy controls. The F1 frequency of /a/, F2 frequencies of /i/ and /u/, the VSA, and the VAI showed significant differences between ALS patients with dysarthria and healthy controls. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.912. The F1 frequency of /a/ and the VSA were the major determinants for differentiating ALS patients who had not yet developed apparent dysarthria from healthy controls (AUC 0.887). In linear regression analyses, as the ALSFRS-R speech subscore decreased, both the VSA and VAI were reduced. In contrast, vowel durations were found to be rather prolonged. The analyses of vowel parameters provided a useful metric correlated with disease severity for detecting subclinical bulbar dysfunction in ALS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Ah Kim
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Translational Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Medical Research Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hayeun Jang
- Division of English, Busan University of Foreign Studies, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoonji Choi
- Department of Korean Language and Literature, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Gi Min
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Translational Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoon-Ho Hong
- Department of Neurology, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung-Joon Sung
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Neuroscience Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seok-Jin Choi
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Center for Hospital Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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9
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Jellinger KA. The Spectrum of Cognitive Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: An Update. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14647. [PMID: 37834094 PMCID: PMC10572320 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241914647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive dysfunction is an important non-motor symptom in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that has a negative impact on survival and caregiver burden. It shows a wide spectrum ranging from subjective cognitive decline to frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and covers various cognitive domains, mainly executive/attention, language and verbal memory deficits. The frequency of cognitive impairment across the different ALS phenotypes ranges from 30% to 75%, with up to 45% fulfilling the criteria of FTD. Significant genetic, clinical, and pathological heterogeneity reflects deficits in various cognitive domains. Modern neuroimaging studies revealed frontotemporal degeneration and widespread involvement of limbic and white matter systems, with hypometabolism of the relevant areas. Morphological substrates are frontotemporal and hippocampal atrophy with synaptic loss, associated with TDP-43 and other co-pathologies, including tau deposition. Widespread functional disruptions of motor and extramotor networks, as well as of frontoparietal, frontostriatal and other connectivities, are markers for cognitive deficits in ALS. Cognitive reserve may moderate the effect of brain damage but is not protective against cognitive decline. The natural history of cognitive dysfunction in ALS and its relationship to FTD are not fully understood, although there is an overlap between the ALS variants and ALS-related frontotemporal syndromes, suggesting a differential vulnerability of motor and non-motor networks. An assessment of risks or the early detection of brain connectivity signatures before structural changes may be helpful in investigating the pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive impairment in ALS, which might even serve as novel targets for effective disease-modifying therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt A Jellinger
- Institute of Clinical Neurobiology, Alberichgasse 5/13, A-1150 Vienna, Austria
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10
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Grossman M, Seeley WW, Boxer AL, Hillis AE, Knopman DS, Ljubenov PA, Miller B, Piguet O, Rademakers R, Whitwell JL, Zetterberg H, van Swieten JC. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2023; 9:40. [PMID: 37563165 DOI: 10.1038/s41572-023-00447-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is one of the most common causes of early-onset dementia and presents with early social-emotional-behavioural and/or language changes that can be accompanied by a pyramidal or extrapyramidal motor disorder. About 20-25% of individuals with FTLD are estimated to carry a mutation associated with a specific FTLD pathology. The discovery of these mutations has led to important advances in potentially disease-modifying treatments that aim to slow progression or delay disease onset and has improved understanding of brain functioning. In both mutation carriers and those with sporadic disease, the most common underlying diagnoses are linked to neuronal and glial inclusions containing tau (FTLD-tau) or TDP-43 (FTLD-TDP), although 5-10% of patients may have inclusions containing proteins from the FUS-Ewing sarcoma-TAF15 family (FTLD-FET). Biomarkers definitively identifying specific pathological entities in sporadic disease have been elusive, which has impeded development of disease-modifying treatments. Nevertheless, disease-monitoring biofluid and imaging biomarkers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are likely to serve as useful measures of treatment response during trials of disease-modifying treatments. Symptomatic trials using novel approaches such as transcranial direct current stimulation are also beginning to show promise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murray Grossman
- Department of Neurology and Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - William W Seeley
- Departments of Neurology and Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Adam L Boxer
- Departments of Neurology and Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Argye E Hillis
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Peter A Ljubenov
- Departments of Neurology and Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Bruce Miller
- Departments of Neurology and Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Olivier Piguet
- School of Psychology and Brain and Mind Center, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rosa Rademakers
- VIB Center for Molecular Neurology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | | | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
- Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
- Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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11
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Tröger J, Baltes J, Baykara E, Kasper E, Kring M, Linz N, Robin J, Schäfer S, Schneider A, Hermann A. PROSA-a multicenter prospective observational study to develop low-burden digital speech biomarkers in ALS and FTD. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2023:1-10. [PMID: 37516990 DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2023.2239312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Objective: There is a need for novel biomarkers that can indicate disease state, project disease progression, or assess response to treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and associated neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Digital biomarkers are especially promising as they can be collected non-invasively and at low burden for patients. Speech biomarkers have the potential to objectively measure cognitive, motor as well as respiratory symptoms at low-cost and in a remote fashion using widely available technology such as telephone calls. Methods: The PROSA study aims to develop and evaluate low-burden frequent prognostic digital speech biomarkers. The main goal is to create a single, easy-to-perform battery that serves as a valid and reliable proxy for cognitive, respiratory, and motor domains in ALS and FTD. The study will be a multicenter 12-months observational study aiming to include 75 ALS and 75 FTD patients as well as 50 healthy controls and build on three established longitudinal cohorts: DANCER, DESCRIBE-ALS and DESCRIBE-FTD. In addition to the extensive clinical phenotyping in DESCRIBE, PROSA collects a comprehensive speech protocol in fully remote and automated fashion over the telephone at four time points. This longitudinal speech data, together with gold standard measures, will allow advanced speech analysis using artificial intelligence for the development of speech-based phenotypes of ALS and FTD patients measuring cognitive, motor and respiratory symptoms. Conclusion: Speech-based phenotypes can be used to develop diagnostic and prognostic models predicting clinical change. Results are expected to have implications for future clinical trial stratification as well as supporting innovative trial designs in ALS and FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Judith Baltes
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
| | | | - Elisabeth Kasper
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany
| | - Martha Kring
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Anja Schneider
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Andreas Hermann
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) Rostock/Greifswald, Rostock, Germany
- Center for Transdisciplinary Neurosciences Rostock (CTNR), University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany, and
- Translational Neurodegeneration Section "Albrecht-Kossel", Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Rostock, Rostock, Germany
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12
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McMillan CT, Wuu J, Rascovsky K, Cosentino S, Grossman M, Elman L, Quinn C, Rosario L, Stark JH, Granit V, Briemberg H, Chenji S, Dionne A, Genge A, Johnston W, Korngut L, Shoesmith C, Zinman L, Kalra S, Benatar M. Defining cognitive impairment in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: an evaluation of empirical approaches. Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener 2022; 23:517-526. [PMID: 35253557 PMCID: PMC9448823 DOI: 10.1080/21678421.2022.2039713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Objective: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multi-system disorder characterized primarily by motor neuron degeneration, but may be accompanied by cognitive dysfunction. Statistically appropriate criteria for establishing cognitive impairment (CI) in ALS are lacking. We evaluate quantile regression (QR), that accounts for age and education, relative to a traditional two standard deviation (SD) cutoff for defining CI. Methods: QR of cross-sectional data from a multi-center North American Control (NAC) cohort of 269 healthy adults was used to model the 5th percentile of cognitive scores on the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS). The QR approach was compared to traditional two SD cutoff approach using the same NAC cohort (2SD-NAC) and to existing UK-based normative data derived using the 2SD approach (2SD-UK) to assess the impact of cohort selection and statistical model in identifying CI in 182 ALS patients. Results: QR-NAC models revealed that age and education impact cognitive performance on the ECAS. Based on QR-NAC normative cutoffs, the frequency of CI in the 182 PENN ALS patients was 15.9% for ALS specific, 12.6% for ALS nonspecific, and 15.4% for ECAS total. This frequency of CI is substantially more conservative in comparison to the 2SD-UK (20.3%-34.6%) and modestly more conservative to the 2SD-NAC (14.3%-16.5%) approaches for estimating CI. Conclusions: The choice of normative cohort has a substantial impact and choice of statistical method a modest impact on defining CI in ALS. This report establishes normative ECAS thresholds to identify whether ALS patients in the North American population have CI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corey T. McMillan
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Joanne Wuu
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Katya Rascovsky
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Stephanie Cosentino
- Columbia University, The Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, New York, NY, USA
| | - Murray Grossman
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren Elman
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Colin Quinn
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Luis Rosario
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jessica H. Stark
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Volkan Granit
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Hannah Briemberg
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Sneha Chenji
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - Annie Dionne
- Department of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Angela Genge
- Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Wendy Johnston
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Lawrence Korngut
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | | | - Lorne Zinman
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | | | - Sanjay Kalra
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Michael Benatar
- University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Miami, FL, USA
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13
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Cho S, Agmon G, Shellikeri S, Cousins KAQ, Ash S, Irwin DJ, Spindler M, Deik AF, Elman LB, Quinn C, Liberman M, Grossman M, Nevler N. Prosodic characteristics of prepausal words produced by patients with neurodegenerative disease. SPEECH PROSODY (URBANA, ILL.) 2022; 2022:120-124. [PMID: 36444200 PMCID: PMC9701527 DOI: 10.21437/speechprosody.2022-25] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Prosody of patients with neurodegenerative disease is often impaired. We investigated changes to two prosodic cues in patients: the pitch contour and the duration of prepausal words. We analyzed recordings of picture descriptions produced by patients with neurodegenerative conditions that included either cognitive (n=223), motor (n=68), or mixed cognitive and motor impairments (n=109), and by healthy controls (n=28; HC). A speech activity detector identified pauses. Words were aligned to the acoustic signal; pitch values were normalized in scale and duration. Analyses of pitch showed that the ending (90th-100th percentile) of prepausal words had a lower pitch in the mixed and motor groups than the cognitive group and HC. The pitch contour from the midpoint of words to the end showed a steep rising slope for HC, but patients showed a gentle rising or flat slope. This suggests that HC signaled the continuation of their description after the pause with rising contour; patients either failed to keep describing the picture due to cognitive impairment or could not raise pitch due to motor impairments. Prepausal words showed longer duration relative to non-prepausal words with no significant differences between the groups. This suggests that prepausal lengthening is preserved in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunghye Cho
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Galit Agmon
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sanjana Shellikeri
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Katheryn A Q Cousins
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sharon Ash
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David J Irwin
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Meredith Spindler
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Andres F Deik
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren B Elman
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Colin Quinn
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mark Liberman
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Murray Grossman
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Naomi Nevler
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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14
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Landin-Romero R, Liang CT, Monroe PA, Higashiyama Y, Leyton CE, Hodges JR, Piguet O, Ballard KJ. Brain changes underlying progression of speech motor programming impairment. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab205. [PMID: 34541532 PMCID: PMC8445394 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aquired apraxia of speech is a disorder that impairs speech production, despite intact peripheral neuromotor function. Its pathomechanism remains to be established. Neurodegenerative lesion models provide an unequalled opportunity to explore the neural correlates of apraxia of speech, which is present in a subset of patients diagnosed with non-semantic variants of primary progressive aphasia. The normalized pairwise variability index, an acoustic measure of speech motor programming, has shown high sensitivity and specificity for apraxia of speech in cross-sectional studies. Here, we aimed to examine the strength of the pairwise variability index and overall word duration (i.e. articulation rate) as markers of progressive motor programming deficits in primary progressive aphasia with apraxia of speech. Seventy-nine individuals diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia (39 with non-fluent variant and 40 with logopenic variant) and 40 matched healthy controls participated. Patients were followed-up annually (range 1-6 years, median number of visits = 2). All participants completed a speech assessment task and a high-resolution MRI. Our analyses investigated trajectories of speech production (e.g. pairwise variablity index and word duration) and associations with cortical atrophy in the patients. At first presentation, word duration differentiated the nonfluent and logopenic cases statistically, but the range of scores overlapped substantially across groups. Longitudinally, we observed progressive deterioration in pairwise variability index and word duration specific to the non-fluent group only. The pairwise variability index showed particularly strong associations with progressive atrophy in speech motor programming brain regions. Of novelty, our results uncovered a key role of the right frontal gyrus in underpinning speech motor programming changes in non-fluent cases, highlighting the importance of right-brain regions in responding to progressive neurological changes in the speech motor network. Taken together, our findings validate the use of a new metric, the pairwise variability index, as a robust marker of apraxia of speech in contrast to more generic measures of speaking rate. Sensitive/specific neuroimaging biomarkers of the emergence and progression of speech impairments will be useful to inform theories of the pathomechanisms underpinning impaired speech motor control. Our findings justify developing more sensitive measures of rhythmic temporal control of speech that may enable confident detection of emerging speech disturbances and more sensitive tracking of intervention-related changes for pharmacological, neuromodulatory and behavioural interventions. A more reliable detection of speech disturbances has relevance for patient care, with predominance of progressive apraxia of speech a high-risk factor for later diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy or corticobasal degeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramon Landin-Romero
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Cheng T Liang
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Penelope A Monroe
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Yuichi Higashiyama
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Medicine, Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Cristian E Leyton
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - John R Hodges
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Olivier Piguet
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kirrie J Ballard
- Brain & Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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15
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Lee J, Madhavan A, Krajewski E, Lingenfelter S. Assessment of dysarthria and dysphagia in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Review of the current evidence. Muscle Nerve 2021; 64:520-531. [PMID: 34296769 DOI: 10.1002/mus.27361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Bulbar dysfunction is a common presentation of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and significantly impacts quality of life of people with ALS (PALS). The current paper reviews measurements of dysarthria and dysphagia specific to ALS to identify efficient and valid assessment measures. Using such assessment measures will lead to improved management of bulbar dysfunction in ALS. Measures reviewed for dysarthria in PALS are organized into three categories: acoustic, kinematic, and strength. A set of criteria are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures' identification of speech impairments, measurement of functional verbal communication, and clinical applicability. Assessments reviewed for dysphagia in PALS are organized into six categories: patient reported outcomes, dietary intake, pulmonary function and airway defense capacity, bulbar function, dysphagia/aspiration screens, and instrumental evaluations. Measurements that have good potential for clinical use are highlighted in both topic areas. Additionally, areas of improvement for clinical practice and research are identified and discussed. In general, no single speech measure fulfilled all the criteria, although a few measures were identified as potential diagnostic tools. Similarly, few objective measures that were validated and replicated with large sample sizes were found for diagnosis of dysphagia in PALS. Importantly, clinical applicability was found to be limited; thus, a collaborative team focused on implementation science would be helpful to improve the clinical uptake of assessments. Overall, the review highlights the need for further development of clinically viable and efficient measurements that use a multidisciplinary approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimin Lee
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Aarthi Madhavan
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Elizabeth Krajewski
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Sydney Lingenfelter
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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16
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Parjane N, Cho S, Ash S, Cousins KAQ, Shellikeri S, Liberman M, Shaw LM, Irwin DJ, Grossman M, Nevler N. Digital Speech Analysis in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndromes. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 82:33-45. [PMID: 34219738 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSPS) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS) as well as non-fluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (naPPA) are often associated with misfolded 4-repeat tau pathology, but the diversity of the associated speech features is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE Investigate the full range of acoustic and lexical properties of speech to test the hypothesis that PSPS-CBS show a subset of speech impairments found in naPPA. METHODS Acoustic and lexical measures, extracted from natural, digitized semi-structured speech samples using novel, automated methods, were compared in PSPS-CBS (n = 87), naPPA (n = 25), and healthy controls (HC, n = 41). We related these measures to grammatical performance and speech fluency, core features of naPPA, to neuropsychological measures of naming, executive, memory and visuoconstructional functioning, and to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) phosphorylated tau (pTau) levels in patients with available biofluid analytes. RESULTS Both naPPA and PSPS-CBS speech produced shorter speech segments, longer pauses, higher pause rates, reduced fundamental frequency (f0) pitch ranges, and slower speech rate compared to HC. naPPA speech was distinct from PSPS-CBS with shorter speech segments, more frequent pauses, slower speech rate, reduced verb production, and higher partial word production. In both groups, acoustic duration measures generally correlated with speech fluency, measured as words per minute, and grammatical performance. Speech measures did not correlate with standard neuropsychological measures. CSF pTau levels correlated with f0 range in PSPS-CBS and naPPA. CONCLUSION Lexical and acoustic speech features of PSPS-CBS overlaps those of naPPA and are related to CSF pTau levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Parjane
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sunghye Cho
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sharon Ash
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Katheryn A Q Cousins
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sanjana Shellikeri
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mark Liberman
- Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Leslie M Shaw
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David J Irwin
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.,Penn Digital Neuropathology Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Murray Grossman
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Naomi Nevler
- Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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17
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Rusina R, Vandenberghe R, Bruffaerts R. Cognitive and Behavioral Manifestations in ALS: Beyond Motor System Involvement. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11040624. [PMID: 33808458 PMCID: PMC8065866 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11040624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has long been considered to be a purely motor disorder. However, it has become apparent that many ALS patients develop cognitive and behavioral manifestations similar to frontotemporal dementia and the term amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-frontotemporal spectrum disorder (ALS-FTSD) is now used in these circumstances. This review is intended to be an overview of the cognitive and behavioral manifestations commonly encountered in ALS patients with the goal of improving case-oriented management in clinical practice. We introduce the principal ALS-FTSD subtypes and comment on their principal clinical manifestations, neuroimaging findings, neuropathological and genetic background, and summarize available therapeutic options. Diagnostic criteria for ALS-FTSD create distinct categories based on the type of neuropsychological manifestations, i.e., changes in behavior, impaired social cognition, executive dysfunction, and language or memory impairment. Cognitive impairment is found in up to 65%, while frank dementia affects about 15% of ALS patients. ALS motor and cognitive manifestations can worsen in parallel, becoming more pronounced when bulbar functions (affecting speech, swallowing, and salivation) are involved. Dementia can precede or develop after the appearance of motor symptoms. ALS-FTSD patients have a worse prognosis and shorter survival rates than patients with ALS or frontotemporal dementia alone. Important negative prognostic factors are behavioral and personality changes. From the clinician's perspective, there are five major distinguishable ALS-FTSD subtypes: ALS with cognitive impairment, ALS with behavioral impairment, ALS with combined cognitive and behavioral impairment, fully developed frontotemporal dementia in combination with ALS, and comorbid ALS and Alzheimer's disease. Although the most consistent ALS and ALS-FTSD pathology is a disturbance in transactive response DNA binding protein 43 kDa (TDP-43) metabolism, alterations in microtubule-associated tau protein metabolism have also been observed in ALS-FTSD. Early detection and careful monitoring of cognitive deficits in ALS are crucial for patient and caregiver support and enable personalized management of individual patient needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Rusina
- Department of Neurology, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, and Thomayer University Hospital, 140 59 Prague, Czech Republic
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +420-26108-2479
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.V.); (R.B.)
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Rose Bruffaerts
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.V.); (R.B.)
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
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