Developing Digital Speech Biomarkers of Bulbar Disease Decline in Spanish-Speaking Persons With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Nova Southeastern University
Summary
The goal of this observational study is to learn how speech and breathing change over time in Spanish-speaking individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared to age- and gender-matched individuals without ALS. The main questions it aims to answer are: Can speech and breathing measures collected through a smartphone application serve as reliable digital biomarkers to track bulbar disease decline in Spanish-speaking people with ALS? How do these measures differ between individuals with ALS and those without ALS? Researchers will compare Spanish-speaking participants with ALS to age- and gender-matched healthy controls to see if specific speech and breathing features can identify or predict bulbar decline. Participants will: Use a Spanish-language smartphone application to record speech and breathing tasks over time. Complete assessments of speech, breathing, and functional abilities (e.g., ALS Functional Rating Scale). Provide data that will be compared to caregiver reports and clinical outcomes to validate new digital biomarkers.
Description
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to paralysis, speech and swallowing decline, and respiratory failure. Approximately 90% of people living with ALS (pALS) experience bulbar symptoms, which severely affect communication, nutrition, and overall quality of life. Despite their clinical significance, bulbar symptoms remain poorly characterized, particularly in non-English-speaking populations. The absence of validated Spanish-language digital biomarkers represen…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–90 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * diagnosis of definite ALS * monolingual or first language Spanish speaker * literate in Spanish * ALS Functional Rating Scale speech score of ≧2 Exclusion Criteria: * no diagnosis of concomitant respiratory disease such as COPD, emphysema, or current TOB use.
Location
- Cathy J Husman ALS Center at Nova Southeastern UniversityFort Lauderdale, Florida