Essential voice tremor is a neurological condition that produces a regular, shaking quality in the voice. One form of drug treatment that produces some improvement in tremor of the hands is octanoic acid, which is a food additive that is similar to alcohol. Research suggests that octanoic acid may reduce tremor in the hands/arms with few side effects and no intoxication effects. This study will determine whether octanoic acid may be useful for reducing tremor when it affects the voice. Researchers are hypothesizing that octanoic acid will reduce the effects of tremor on the voice.
Background: * Essential tremor of the voice produces regular shaking and hoarseness in the voice, making it difficult speech difficult to understand * Several previous studies have found that octanoic acid and octanol, which are related to alcohol, can improve tremor in some people without producing many side effects and without producing intoxication * Researchers are interested in determining whether octanoic acid can improve tremor that affects the voice Objectives: * To determine the effects of octanoic voice using voice recordings and listener ratings of voice * To determine the effects of octanoic acid on level of voice disability experienced by people with essential voice tremor
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
17
Syracuse University & Upstate Medical University
Syracuse, New York, United States
Magnitude of Acoustic Amplitude Tremor and Magnitude of Acoustic Frequency Tremor
Voice recordings were used to measure the degree of tremor in the voice. Mean post-test values for each acoustic measure were compared after the octanoic acid and placebo conditions, with and without consideration of baseline values. Mean values represent the average of two testing days. Degree of amplitude tremor shows the extent of amplitude variation as a percent of the mean signal amplitude, with lower numbers indicating less amplitude tremor. Baseline values for magnitude of amplitude tremor across all participants and conditions ranged from 4.06 to 27.09, and post-test values ranged from 1.94 to 26.02. Degree of frequency tremor shows the extent of fundamental frequency variation as a percent of the mean signal frequency, with lower numbers indicating less frequency tremor. Baseline values for magnitude of frequency tremor across all participants and conditions ranged from 1.21 to 15.31, and post-test values ranged from 0.60 to 13.86.
Time frame: Measured at baseline visits (1 & 2) and after 3 weeks of placebo or octanoic acid on post-test visits (1 & 2)
Auditory-perceptual Tremor Severity Ratings
Three experienced listeners independently rated each participant's voice from paired sample recordings comparing the baseline to post-test samples in randomized order for each condition. Sustained vowel and sentence-level recordings were rated, with decoded samples later analyzed for 1=better for post-test compared to baseline, 0= no difference between post-test and baseline. Maximum score for each participant was 3 (post-test was better for each of three raters). The range of possible scores was the sum of each of three raters' scores (0 to 3), with 0 indicating no difference between baseline and post-test voice tremor severity rating, and 3 indicating better voice (less tremor severity) at post-testing compared to pre-testing. Mean post-test values for task were compared for the octanoic acid and placebo conditions, and all raters were blind to which sample was a baseline versus a post-test recording, and which samples were associated with the \[placebo or octanoic acid conditions.
Time frame: Measured at baseline visits (1 & 2) and after 3 weeks of placebo or octanoic acid on post-test visits (1 & 2).
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