A major clinical trial undertaken at the University of Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit (BCTU) has shown that the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD®) is more effective than current speech and language therapy provided by the NHS for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).
Funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment and published today in the British Medical Journal, the trial revealed that LSVT LOUD® was more effective at reducing the participant's reported impact of voice problems than no speech and language therapy, as well as the NHS-provided speech and language therapy.
The trial was led by experts from the Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham, as well as Sandwell and Dudley Hospital Trust, University College London, King's College, London, University of Bangor, Canterbury Christ Church University and Glasgow Caledonian University. It was carried out in NHS speech and language therapy (SLT) services across the UK and coordinated and analysed by the BCTU team at the University of Birmingham.
Academics across different University of Birmingham departments collaborated on the trial, such as Professor Sue Jowett and Zainab Abdali from the Health Economics Unit, and Natalie Rowland, Rebecca Woolley and Ryan Ottridge from BCTU.
