Review of treatment approaches for respiratory and laryngeal function in neurodegenerative diseases
What is it about?
Speech-language pathologists choose treatments based on the evidence base supporting their use with specific populations. This paper reviews the current literature available for treatments to improve respiratory (breathing) and laryngeal (voicing) function in people with neurodegenerative diseases (i.e., Parkinson's disease, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis). A number of diseases are considered with most evidence available for Parkinson disease.
Why is it important?
The systematic review highlights how a variety of treatments have been studied to understand expected changes as a result of a treatment. Treatments are reviewed for a variety of disorders. The authors also discuss areas of treatment research that need to be expanded, as well as research methods that need to be improved, to provide better support for clinical practices.