View clinical trials related to Unilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis.
Filter by:Thyroidectomy is the most common iatrogenic cause of vocal fold paralysis. Patients complain of hoarseness caused by incomplete glottic closure and have effort to raise vocal intensity with consequent elevation of the larynx and/or involvement of supraglottic structures in phonation. These compensation mechanisms result in a shift of the fundamental frequency towards more serious tones or falsetto voice emissions. The first choice treatment is speech therapy which aims to obtain better glottic closure, preventing ankylosis of the crico-arytenoid joint. In order to promote better glottic closure without risking the onset or increase of dysfunctional compensation, the idea behind this project is to propose non-phonatory adduction exercises in the first post-operative week. The primary objective of the study is to compare patients who will perform non-phonatory exercises in parallel with medical therapy for one week and patients who will perform standard medical therapy only during the first week.
The purpose of this preliminary study is to help clarify our hypotheses for the longitudinal study by investigating the relationship between vocal cord paralysis and central auditory processes and thus the interpretation of auditory inputs into the central nervous system.
The aim of this study is to understand how early intervention could impact reinnervation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (which innervates the vocal cord), recovery of mobility of the paralyzed vocal cord and / or vocal recovery in the case of unilateral vocal fold paralysis. To achieve this goal we must therefore carry out a complete outcomes assessment of different intervention methods (voice therapy and injection laryngoplasty), which are offered to UVFP (unilateral vocal fold paralysis) patients in the early stage (< 3 months). Their respective impacts on the central and peripheral nervous system and on the voice quality will be assessed, taking into account factors related to the severity of the paralysis.
Evaluate if adding expiratory muscle strength training to traditional voice therapy for individuals with dysphonia due to glottal insufficiency improves maximal expiratory pressure, acoustic and aerodynamic measures (i.e. amplitude, maximum phonation time, peak expiratory flow), and voice related quality of life.
This project is a first attempt to assess cough airflow dynamics and true vocal fold (TVF) adduction and abduction angles during voluntary cough to examine the effects of changes in glottal closure due to reduced mobility of one true vocal fold. The hypothesis of this study is that the incomplete glottal closure due to reduced vocal fold mobility will result in changes in true vocal fold adductory and abductory angles during cough and will result in changes to voluntary cough airflow parameters. This study results will contribute to the existing knowledge of the laryngeal contribution to cough airflow dynamics.
Laryngeal motor and sensory nerve dysfunction may cause phonation and swallowing disturbance, which often happens after the treatment for laryngopharyngeal and esophageal cancer and may induce fatal complications such as aspiration pneumonia. By the conventional examinations, the tiny sensory or motor changes are hard to be detected before complete vocal paralysis. It is utmost important to establish a comprehensive quantitative method which is sensitive enough to evaluate the neuromuscular functions. The present project will evaluate the laryngeal nerve function by quantitative laryngeal electromyography, which was developed by the research team, and another novel examination technique, mucosal membrane sensation test. The comprehensive method is expected to grade the laryngeal nerve injuries quantitatively before the significant symptoms or complications and can also help to evaluate the treatment effect from medicine, rehabilitation or surgery.
Mandarin Chinese phonemically distinguishes four tones, with Tone 1 having high-level pitch, Tone 2 high-rising pitch, Tone 3 low-dipping pitch, and Tone 4 high-falling pitch The same segmental context carries different meanings depending on the tone. The function deficit of cricothyroid (CT) muscle, innervated by external branch superior laryngeal nerve (eSLN), would impair the speech tone adjustment. The defect in tone adjustment may interfere with the communication function in Mandarin Chinese speaker more than other language users. This may explain while peripheral unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) patients with eSLN injury had worse outcomes than those with sole recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis. The neuromuscular control of laryngeal muscle can be evaluated by laryngeal electromyography (LEMG). The investigators have utilized a quantified LEMG (denoted Q-LEMG) in their previous research to measure the neuromuscular control of thyroarytenoid- lateral cricoarytenoid (TA-LCA) adductor complex. However, the task to measure the CT muscle function by Q-LEMG has not been developed yet. It is of thus of utmost interest to develop a standardized task to measure the neuromuscular function of CT muscle in Mandarin speakers. In Mandarin speaking patients with UVFP, the lexical tone influence from CT muscle can be discovered by the technique. The investigators also want to measure the lexical tone correction by conventional laryngoplasty and its influence in CT muscle activity. The data of lexical tone and its correlation with CT contractile activity is important in attempting pitch adjust artificial electrolarynx.
The purpose of this study is to see how the brain re-learns to control the larynx in speaking and swallowing when undergoing surgical rehabilitation in the form of either thyroplasty or vocal fold augmentation for unilateral vocal cord paralysis. What is needed is information on how the brain re-learns to control speaking and swallowing so that we can eventually learn how to help patients re-learn faster after their procedure. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (or fMRI) will allow us to image your brain as you speak and swallow. We will produce "brain maps" for speaking, swallowing and hand movements.
Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) is caused by injury to the nerve to the affected vocal fold. The injury to the vocal fold makes the affected person's voice sound "breathy". Voice therapy is usually tried first, and, if unsuccessful, surgical treatment is considered. The standard surgical treatment is called vocal fold medialization and aims to bring the injured cord to the midline. An alternative surgical treatment, vocal fold reinnervation, aims to bring a new nerve supply to the injured vocal fold. The reinnervation operation, which has some potential advantages over the medialization operation also requires several months for final results to be gained. The goal of this multicenter, randomized clinical trial is to see which of the two surgical treatments produces a better outcome. In order to participate in this study patients with UVFP must meet all entry criteria and must be released from voice therapy by a speech-language pathologist. Information collected for the study (pre-surgery, and at 6 and 12 months after surgery) includes voice recordings, movies made of vocal fold function, airflow and pressure measurements of the voicebox, and an outcomes questionnaire.