La rééducation orthophonique de la dysarthrie parkinsonienne

INTRODUCTION

Dysarthria is frequent in Parkinson's disease and impairs communication.

STATE OF THE ART

Use of levodopa or surgical procedures does not significantly improve speech. Traditional speech therapy can lead to improvement of dysarthria, and intensive programs have recently showed substantial beneficial effects on parkinsonian dysarthria.

PERSPECTIVES

More work is needed to evaluate speech treatment efficacy.

CONCLUSION

Earlier and more frequent speech therapy in parkinsonian dysarthria patients may contribute to better quality of life.

The place of perceptual analysis of dysarthria in the differential diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration and Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the dysarthria in patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and determine if analysis of speech in isolation helps to distinguish CBD patients from patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODS

60 subjects were assessed by means of perceptual analysis of speech: 15 patients with CBD, 15 patients with PD and 30 control subjects. A detailed profile was furnished with the help of 33 perceptual items. A global perceptual approach was used to classify patients by judges blind to the medical diagnosis. Rating scales were adapted to quantify the degree of spasticity and hypokinesia in the speech of each patient.

RESULTS

Dysarthria was frequent in CBD even though it remained mild for a long period of time. Group analysis revealed the importance of temporal errors of speech control in CBD patients while voice disturbances were most frequent in PD patients. However, attempts to classify patients according to global perceptual analysis remained below a reasonable level of clinical acceptability. Finally, even though the widespread neuropathological changes suggest that deviant speech dimensions of several types of dysarthria might be found in CBD, evidence for a mixed dysarthria with presence of spastic elements could not be established.

CONCLUSION

The findings support the view that even though perceptual analysis is mandatory in the management of dysarthric patients, it does not help in the clinical differential diagnosis of CBD.

[Perceptual analysis of dysarthria: presentation and validation of a clinical scale. Preliminary study]

Perceptual analysis is widely used in clinical practice to assess motor speech disorders such as dysarthria. Unfortunately, there is no standardised tool available in French. The purpose of this study was first to develop a perceptual rating system modelled after systems currently used in the English literature and second to determine its reliability. We evaluated 33 dimensions using a 5-point scale. The production of 10 dysarthric patients were rated by 9 clinicians during both spontaneous speech and a reading task. Intra judge reliability (at 1-point) was about 90 percent, while inter judge reliability was about 80 percent. Ratings were comparable for the spontaneous speech and the reading task. Perceptual analysis of dysarthria is an easy and reproducible approach that can be used for the initial evaluation and for the follow up of dysarthric patients.

Measurement of voice onset time in dysarthric patients: methodological considerations

Voice onset time (VOT) reflects the timing control between laryngeal and supralaryngeal adjustments. It has been studied both in normal speakers and patients with speech disorders, but very little information has been published on the feasibility of this measure in clinical practice. We examined 10 repeated utterances involving the voiceless stop consonants [p], [t] and [k] in 110 subjects (27 controls, 48 with spastic dysarthria and 35 with hypokinetic dysarthria). The mean rate of measurable VOT was 95% for normal speech, 80% for hypokinetic dysarthria and 84% for spastic dysarthria. The main obstacle to successful measurement was lack of the burst signifying the release of the plosive. The posterior stop [k] presented the greatest measurement difficulties for the dysarthric subjects, which is in accordance with previous perceptual reports on dysarthria.

Dysarthria and orofacial apraxia in corticobasal degeneration

The authors evaluated dysarthria and orofacial apraxia (OFA) in 10 patients with a clinical diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration (CBD). Nine patients were slightly dysarthric according to the French version of the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, which evaluates the motricity of the components of the vocal tract. The severity of dysarthria assessed by an intelligibility score was correlated to the global severity of the disease, but not to the duration of the disease. Voluntary movements of the tongue and the lips were impaired in all patients. OFA, evaluated with simple and sequential gestures, was present in nine patients. Sequential gestures were more frequently impaired. The score of OFA was not correlated to the severity of dysarthria, suggesting independent underlying mechanisms. Thus, when specifically assessed, dysarthria and OFA are more frequent in CBD than usually reported. We propose that the underlying pathophysiology is the result of a deficit in programming and execution of repetitive movements.

[Myasthenic syndrome induced by lithium]

BACKGROUND

Lithium salts can induce a dysfunction of the neuromuscular junction.

CASE REPORT

A patient given lithium for bipolar psychosis developed a state of major fatigue revealing a myasthenia syndrome which resolved progressively after lithium withdrawal.

DISCUSSION

In the literature, we found 4 cases of neuromuscular junction disorders in patients treated with lithium. A myasthenia syndrome was induced by lithium in 3 cases and underlying myasthenia was disclosed by lithium in the last one. The long-term course in our patient was in favor of an induced syndrome rather than underlying myasthenia. We discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms. Lithium is a commonly prescribed drug. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of neuromuscular junction disorder in patients taking lithium who develop muscle fatigue.

[Isolated truncular paralysis of the musculocutaneous nerve of the upper limb]

Isolated palsy of the musculocutaneous nerve, terminal branch of the lateral cord of the brachial plexus, is rare. It is responsible for sensory loss of the distal forearm and weakness of elbow flexion. It occurs after shoulder or clavicle surgery, trauma (fracture, dislocation, blows on the shoulder), violent exercice or extension of the forearm, prolonged positioning of the shoulder in extension-abduction-external rotation and phlebotomy. Different mechanisms such as stretching, compression or direct nerve injury are encountered. We report 5 cases with isolated musculocutaneous nerve palsy, including bilateral palsy caused by violent forearm extension. In other cases, mechanisms were an extensive stretching during surgery and compression caused by prolonged supine position. Different injury locations and causes described in literature are reviewed.

[Evaluation of motor speech function in the diagnosis of various forms of dysarthria]

Perceptual analysis is not sufficient enough to identify specific dysarthria types. In order to improve the discrimination between dysarthria types, we developed a standardized evaluation of different functions controlling speech motor performances. This was applied to 90 patients suffering from hypokinetic, spastic or ataxic dysarthria and 15 control subjects. A discriminate analysis showed that 71.4 p. 100 of the cases were correctly classified. This model was validated within a new group of 21 patients and showed that the less severe dysarthric parkinsonian patients were difficult to distinguish from control subjects. The discriminate analysis was then used for 20 patients with atypical parkinsonism. Seven patients with progressive supranuclear palsy were considered to have hypokinetic dysarthria. The 6 patients with multisystem atrophy and 7 with corticobasal degeneration were classified among the 3 dysarthric types. We suggest that motor speech evaluation may contribute to differential diagnosis within groups of patients suffering from atypical parkinsonism.

[Cortico-basal degeneration]

Cortico-basal degeneration (CBD) has recently emerged as a distinctive entity of the Parkinson-plus syndromes but presents with great clinical and anatomopathological heterogeneity. The purpose of this review is to increase awareness of the syndrome and facilitate its recognition in both typical and unusual cases. We will herein review the 398 cases found in the English and French literature with their clinical, laboratory and pathological features.

[Naming impairment for man-made objects in a case of herpes encephalitis]

We report the naming performances of a 25 year-old woman with a left internal and inferior temporal lesion caused by herpes encephalitis who showed a preferential impairment for naming man-made objects. Evidence for category-specific effect was provided by a stepwise logistic regression using 171 pictures characterized by several parameters (words frequency, diversity of responses, length, name agreement, majoritary response, familiarity, visual complexity and canonicity). Analyses were realized over a 5 month period. Methodological considerations, anatomic correlations and arguments suggesting lexical access or semantic storage disturbance are discussed.

[Clinical assessment of dysarthria: presentation and validation of a method]

We adapted in French the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment (FDA) developed by P. Enderby in 1983. This tool quantitatively evaluates the organs involved in speech and provides a measurement of intelligibility. Productions of normal subjects were analyzed. Reproductibility of data (correlation and interobserver concordance) was high in 18 dysarthric patients. A study performed in 100 dysarthric patients corresponding to 4 types of dysarthria (spastic, ataxic, hypokinetic and mixte) showed that dysarthria resulted from a global impairment of organs implied in speech, rather than one specific organ. The reduction in the intelligibility score was related to organ impairment.

[Palinopsia associated with partial seizures secondary to right parietal hemorrhage]

Palinopsia and motor partial seizures were associated in a 51-year-old man. The manifestation appeared six months after a right parietal hemorrhage. The relationship between the hallucinatory phenomena and epilepsy is discussed.

[EEG recordings during episodes of palinacousis and palinopsia]

Palinopsia (visual perseveration) and palinacousis (auditory perseveration) are reported in a 51-year-old woman with a left temporo parietal astrocytoma. EEG showed a left temporal delta-focus with sharp waves. EEG was not modified during neither palinacousis nor palinopsia. The relationship between the two hallucinatory phenomena and epilepsy is discussed.

[Cerebrovascular complication in non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis. Value of cardiac transesophageal ultrasonography]

BACKGROUND

Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis in patients with cancer can lead to ischemic stroke. Endocardial vegetations are usually small and may be missed at transthoracic echocardiography.

CASE REPORT

Disseminated intravascular coagulation developed in a woman with ischemic stroke. Transthoracic echocardiography was normal. Four days later, transesophageal echocardiography revealed a large mitral vegetation suggesting non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis. The diagnosis was confirmed at pathology which reported carcinoma of the colon.

DISCUSSION

Transthoracic echocardiography is rarely contributed to the diagnosis of thrombotic endocarditis. In our patient transesophageal echocardiography grave the diagnosis before death instead of retrospectively at autopsy as usually occurs, demonstrating the value of transesophageal echocardiography for cancer patients who develop ischemic stroke.

[Spontaneous thrombosis of cerebral arteriovenous malformation]

Complete disappearance of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM), 9 years after its discovery, is reported in a 45-year-old man. This unusual evolution was revealed by the onset of 3 seizures. CT scan and MR imaging eliminated any hemorrhage and carotid angiography showed the spontaneous thrombosis of the whole malformation. The evolution of the MRI signals demonstrates that seizures and the disappearance of the AVM were concomitant. It is suggested that the spontaneous thrombosis of the venous drainage caused the AVM disappearance with cerebral oedema responsible of seizures.

Clozapine for the treatment of psychosis in Parkinson's disease: a review

The occurrence of psychosis is frequent during the evolution of Parkinson's disease. The reduction of therapeutics or the use of classical neuroleptics may improve the symptoms, but usually worsens parkinsonism. Clozapine is an atypical neuroleptic with only few extrapyramidal effects, which has been proposed at low dose in this indication since 1985. A review of the literature, about more than 200 patients shows good results in approximately 90% without worsening of extrapyramidal symptoms. Some patients even noted an improvement of their motor state while treated by clozapine alone or as dopatherapy was secondarily increased. More controversial results were obtained in demented or depressed patients. Sedation is one of the most frequently encountered side-effect but rarely necessitates the withdrawal of clozapine. Even if the risk of agranulocytosis is slight, regular blood cell counts must be done.

[Saccadic latencies and unilateral spatial neglect caused by parietal lesions]

Latencies of lateral visually guided saccades were studied in 12 right handed patients who had unilateral ischaemic lesions involving the parietal lobe. The patients were divided into two groups according to the right or left side of the lesions. The severity of unilateral spatial neglect was assessed. In right parietal lesions, the asymmetry of latencies was related to the presence of unilateral spatial neglect and correlated with ist severity. According to the stimulus condition used, we suggest that the asymmetry of latency is explained in terms of an inability to disengage.

[Phenotype of familial forms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease linked to chromosome 14. Clinical and neuropsychological characteristics of a large group]

We report the clinical features and neuropsychological data of chromosome-14 linked early-onset Alzheimer's disease in a large family (FAD-RO1). Information available in the literature from eight additional chromosome 14-linked Alzheimer's disease kindreds was compared with the data obtained from six kindreds with amyloid precursor protein gene mutations (APP). In the chromosome 14-linked families the disease has an earlier onset and a shorter duration than in families with APP mutations, with an age at death lower than sixty years of age. Seizures, myoclonus and extra pyramidal signs were frequently present in the cases of FAD-RO1 as in six chromosome 14-linked kindreds, but these features were absent in two other ones. The high frequency of seizures (> 80%) in FAD-RO1 and two other chromosome 14-linked kindreds is remarkable. Seizures and myoclonus were encountered at a lower prevalence in APP kindreds. This review suggests that some clinical features are more prevalent in chromosome 14-linked than in APP kindreds but a phenotypic heterogeneity does exist within and between families. The profile of deterioration of the neuropsychological performances, as illustrated by the FAD-RO1 members, shows that chromosome 14-linked kindreds do not demonstrate a specific expression in comparison to APP kindreds. Memory was first impaired. Deficits in visuo-spatial and visuopractic abilities were then noted. Finally the verbal performance deteriorated.

[Palinacousis with hemianacusia caused by left temporal lesion]

Palinacousis (auditory perseveration) is reported in a 78-year-old patient with a left temporo parietal astrocytoma. The patient complained of "echoing voice" in his right ear. Palinacousis was associated with sensitive partial seizures. Neuropsychological investigations revealed hemianacusia with normal performance for phonological discrimination and verbal repetition. We suggest that these preserved abilities allowed emergence of palinacousis.

Topographic EEG activations during timbre and pitch discrimination tasks using musical sounds

Successive auditory stimulation sequences were presented binaurally to 18 young normal volunteers. Five conditions were investigated: two reference tasks, assumed to involve passive listening to couples of musical sounds, and three discrimination tasks, one dealing with pitch, and two with timbre (either with or without the attack). A symmetrical montage of 16 EEG channels was recorded for each subject across the different conditions. Two quantitative parameters of EEG activity were compared among the different sequences within five distinct frequency bands. As compared to a rest (no stimulation) condition, both passive listening conditions led to changes in primary auditory cortex areas. Both discrimination tasks for pitch and timbre led to right hemisphere EEG changes, organized in two poles: an anterior one and a posterior one. After discussing the electrophysiological aspects of this work, these results are interpreted in terms of a network including the right temporal neocortex and the right frontal lobe to maintain the acoustical information in an auditory working memory necessary to carry out the discrimination task.