TY - JOUR
T1 - Multidimensional Analysis on the Effect of Vocal Function Exercises on Aged Vocal Fold Atrophy
AU - Kaneko, Mami
AU - Hirano, Shigeru
AU - Tateya, Ichiro
AU - Kishimoto, Yo
AU - Hiwatashi, Nao
AU - Fujiu-Kurachi, Masako
AU - Ito, Juichi
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Advanced Research for Medical Products Mining Program of the National Institute of Biomedical Innovation (NIBIO ID: 10-05) .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Voice Foundation.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/9/1
Y1 - 2015/9/1
N2 - Objectives. Age-related voice change is characterized as weak, harsh, and breathy. These changes are caused by histologic alteration of the lamina propria of the vocal fold mucosa as well as atrophy of the thyroarytenoid muscle. Several therapeutic strategies involving laryngeal framework surgery and injection laryngoplasty have been tried, but effects have been limited. Vocal function exercises (VFE) have been used to treat age-related vocal fold atrophy although the effectiveness has been shown with limited analysis. The present study aims to determine the effectiveness of VFE for the treatment of aged atrophy using multidimensional analysis. Study Design. This is a retrospective study. Methods. Sixteen patients with vocal fold atrophy aged 65-81 years underwent voice therapy using VFE. Six patients with vocal fold atrophy aged 65-85 years were involved as a historical control group. The grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain (GRBAS) scale, stroboscopic examinations, aerodynamic assessment, acoustic analysis, and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) were performed before and after VFE. Normalized mucosal wave amplitude (NMWA), normalized glottal gap (NGG), and bowing index (BI) were measured by image analysis during stroboscopic examinations. Results. After VFE, significant improvements were shown in GRBAS, maximum phonation time, jitter, NMWA, NGG, and VHI-10 although BI has not changed significantly. There were no significant improvements in the historical control. Conclusions. The data suggest that VFE produces significant improvement in subjective, objective, and patient self-evaluation and deserves further attention as a treatment for aged atrophy of the vocal fold. It was also suggested that VFE does not improve the vocal fold bowing but may improve muscular function during voicing.
AB - Objectives. Age-related voice change is characterized as weak, harsh, and breathy. These changes are caused by histologic alteration of the lamina propria of the vocal fold mucosa as well as atrophy of the thyroarytenoid muscle. Several therapeutic strategies involving laryngeal framework surgery and injection laryngoplasty have been tried, but effects have been limited. Vocal function exercises (VFE) have been used to treat age-related vocal fold atrophy although the effectiveness has been shown with limited analysis. The present study aims to determine the effectiveness of VFE for the treatment of aged atrophy using multidimensional analysis. Study Design. This is a retrospective study. Methods. Sixteen patients with vocal fold atrophy aged 65-81 years underwent voice therapy using VFE. Six patients with vocal fold atrophy aged 65-85 years were involved as a historical control group. The grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, strain (GRBAS) scale, stroboscopic examinations, aerodynamic assessment, acoustic analysis, and Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) were performed before and after VFE. Normalized mucosal wave amplitude (NMWA), normalized glottal gap (NGG), and bowing index (BI) were measured by image analysis during stroboscopic examinations. Results. After VFE, significant improvements were shown in GRBAS, maximum phonation time, jitter, NMWA, NGG, and VHI-10 although BI has not changed significantly. There were no significant improvements in the historical control. Conclusions. The data suggest that VFE produces significant improvement in subjective, objective, and patient self-evaluation and deserves further attention as a treatment for aged atrophy of the vocal fold. It was also suggested that VFE does not improve the vocal fold bowing but may improve muscular function during voicing.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jvoice.2014.10.017
DO - 10.1016/j.jvoice.2014.10.017
M3 - Article
C2 - 25944293
AN - SCOPUS:84941316545
VL - 29
SP - 638
EP - 644
JO - Journal of Voice
JF - Journal of Voice
SN - 0892-1997
IS - 5
ER -