Scientific Publications Database

Article Title: Investigating Voice as a Biomarker for Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2-Associated Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Arora, Siddharth; Visanji, Naomi P.; Mestre, Tiago A.; Tsanas, Athanasios; AlDakheel, Amaal; Connolly, Barbara S.; Gasca-Salas, Carmen; Kern, Drew S.; Jain, Jennifer; Slow, Elizabeth J.; Faust-Socher, Achinoam; Lang, Anthony E.; Little, Max A.; Marras, Connie
Journal: JOURNAL OF PARKINSONS DISEASE Volume 8 Issue 4
Date of Publication:2018
Abstract:
We investigate the potential association between leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) mutations and voice. Sustained phonations ('aaah' sounds) were recorded from 7 individuals with LRRK2-associated Parkinson's disease (PD), 17 participants with idiopathic PD (iPD), 20 non-manifesting LRRK2-mutation carriers, 25 related non-carriers, and 26 controls. In distinguishing LRRK2-as sociated PD and iPD, the mean sensitivity was 95.4% (SD 17.8%) and mean specificity was 89.6% (SD 26.5%). Voice features for non-manifesting carriers, related non-carriers, and controls were much less discriminatory. Vocal deficits in LRRK2-associated PD may be different than those in iPD. These preliminary results warrant longitudinal analyses and replication in larger cohorts.