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Parkinson DiseasePhase 2NCT04323085

Speech-in-Noise Treatments for Hypophonia in Parkinson's Disease

A Phase 2 study testing Speech-in-Noise Treatment Program and Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device Program in people with Parkinson Disease and Speech Disorders, run by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's at 1 site in Canada.

Unknown status

Status not confirmed. The sponsor has not verified this record for over two years, so it may be out of date.

Official record
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Trial summary

Hypophonia, or reduced speech intensity, is the most prevalent speech symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) and often leads to significant difficulty communicating in most social situations. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 45 to 85 years
Conditions the study is for
Parkinson Disease, Speech Disorders
What is being tested?
Speech-in-Noise Treatment Program and Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device Program
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
80 participants
Where
1 siteCanada
Study dates
Jul 2020to Dec 2021
Phase
Phase 2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 45 to 85 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Diagnosed with idiopathic PD and hypophonia by a neurologist at least 6 months prior to participation.
  • Stabilized on antiparkinsonian medication.
  • Good general health.
  • 45-85 years old.
  • Pass a 50 dB hearing screening and cognitive screening (>20/30 on MOCA).
  • Proficient enough in English to participate in speech testing.

Who cannot join

  • History of stroke or an additional neurological or motor control disorder.
  • History of speech impairment that is unrelated to PD.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Scott Adams, PhD contact

519661-2111 ext. 88941

sadams@uwo.ca

Mandar Jog, MD contact

5196633814

Mandar.Jog@lhsc.on.ca

Canada1 site
  • LawsonHRI

    London, Ontario, N6G 1H1

Other trials in Canada

About this study

Official title: Speech-in-Noise Treatments to Improve Hypophonia in Everyday Social Contexts for Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

Hypophonia, or reduced speech intensity, is the most prevalent speech symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) and often leads to significant difficulty communicating in most social situations. Behavioural treatments for hypophonia can be temporarily effective but many individuals fail to retain and transfer improvements beyond the context of the speech clinic. The present study will address the transfer of treatment problem using two new treatment programs. Both treatments focus on improving speech intensity during conversations in different social contexts and a wide range of background noise conditions. The Speech-in-Noise (SIN) treatment program involves training higher speech intensity during variable levels of background noise while receiving real-time intensity feedback from a speech therapist. The second treatment, the Speech-to-Noise Feedback (SNF) device treatment program, involves using a wearable SNF device to provide feedback about an ideal target speech-to-noise level in a wide range of background noise conditions. Forty individuals with PD and their communication partners (i.e. spouse) will be randomly assigned to one of the two treatment programs. To evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments, a wearable recording device will measure daily conversational speech intensity and background noise for 7 consecutive days before, 1 week after, and 12 weeks after treatment.

Read the detailed description

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases and is associated with several disabling motor and non-motor symptoms. About 70% of individuals with PD will develop speech impairments. Hypophonia, or reduced speech intensity, is the most prevalent speech symptom and often leads to significant difficulty communicating in most social situations. Behavioural treatments for hypophonia can be temporarily effective but many individuals fail to retain and transfer improvements beyond the context of the speech clinic. These transfer difficulties may be related to cognitive and sensorimotor deficits associated with PD that inhibit the incorporation of new speech strategies into habitual speech. This transfer of treatment problem is a longstanding and major concern in the treatment of speech in PD.

The present study will address the transfer of treatment problem using two new treatment programs. Both treatments focus on improving speech intensity during conversations in different social contexts and a wide range of background noise conditions. The Speech-in-Noise (SIN) treatment program involves training higher speech intensity during variable levels of background noise while receiving real-time intensity feedback from a speech therapist in social situations inside and outside of the clinic. The second treatment, the Speech-to-Noise Feedback (SNF) device treatment program, involves using a wearable SNF device to provide feedback about an ideal target speech-to-noise level in a wide range of background noise conditions inside and outside of the speech clinic.

Forty individuals with PD and their communication partners (i.e. spouse) will be randomly assigned to one of the two treatment programs. In addition, half of the participants will be randomly assigned to a 13-week delayed treatment group and serve as both untreated controls and treated participants.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments, measures of improvement in speech intensity and speech-to-noise levels will be obtained during everyday social conversations. A wearable recording device will measure daily conversational speech intensity and background noise for 7 consecutive days at three time points: before, 1 week after, and 12 weeks after treatment. The effectiveness of treatment will be also measured using two questionnaires and standard, lab-based speech assessments.

It is anticipated that the evaluation and comparison of these two novel treatment paradigms will advance our understanding of procedures that are most effective for enhancing the transfer of treatment for hypophonia into everyday social conversations in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Being tested
Speech-in-Noise Treatment Program, Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device Program
Keywords
Hypophonia
Medical subject headings
Parkinson Disease, Speech Disorders

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Speech-in-Noise Treatment ProgramBehavioural

    Speech therapy program for hypophonia.

  • Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device ProgramBehavioural

    Speech Feedback device program for hypophonia.

Study groups in NCT04323085
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Speech-in-Noise Treatment ProgramActive comparatorA behavioural speech therapy program involving 12, one-hour treatment sessions over a 4-week period
Receives: Behavioral: Speech-in-Noise Treatment Program
Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device ProgramActive comparatorA speech treatment program involving the use of a speech-to-noise feedback device during 12, one-hour treatment sessions over a 4-week period
Receives: Behavioral: Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device Program
Delayed TreatmentNo interventionAssessments but no intervention for a period of 13 weeks.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. speech-to-noise ratio

    Average speech-to-noise ratio obtained from long-term conversation samples

    Measured: 7 days

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. communication effectiveness ratings

    Self-ratings of communication effectiveness using an 8-item questionnaire.

    Measured: 7 days

  2. communication participation ratings

    Self-ratings of communication participation using a 28 item questionnaire.

    Measured: 7 days

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted26 Mar 2020
  2. Study startJul 2020 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionSep 2021 (estimated)
  4. Study completionDec 2021 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
80 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04323085
Sponsor's protocol ID
115713
Status last verified
Mar 2020
First submitted
24 Mar 2020
Last updated
26 Mar 2020
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 2 study testing Speech-in-Noise Treatment Program and Speech-to-Noise Feedback Device Program in people with Parkinson Disease and Speech Disorders, run by London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute OR Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph's at 1 site in Canada.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Mar 2020. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Scott Adams, PhD (519661-2111 ext. 88941, sadams@uwo.ca), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

speech-to-noise ratio (time frame: 7 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 26 Mar 2020.

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