Laryngeal electromyography in adults with Parkinson's disease and voice complaints.
OBJECTIVE
To study the laryngeal electromyography (LEMG) pattern in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and vocal complaints.


METHODS
Twenty-six adults with PD and vocal complaints and 26 controls with presbyphonia underwent videolaryngoscopy (VL) and LEMG.


RESULTS
No tremor was found on LEMG of the cricothyroid and thyroarytenoid muscles, even in cases with clinical and VL tremor. LEMG hypertonicity during voice rest was the typical feature observed in 73% of the patients with PD versus 23% of the controls. This difference was statistically significant. The severity of the disease, diagnosis, and the time of treatment did not correlate with LEMG findings.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study reporting the use of LEMG in a large series of patients with PD and vocal complaints. Patients with PD presented spontaneous intrinsic laryngeal muscle activity during voice rest.


CONCLUSIONS
The typical patterns in LEMG suggest this to be a valuable diagnostic tool in PD.
Zarzur
Ana Paula
AP
Department of Otolaryngology, Beneficência Portuguesa Hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil. apzarzur@uol.com.br
Duprat
André C
AC
Shinzato
Gilson
G
Eckley
Claudia A
CA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004576:Electromyography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007821:Laryngeal Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*