Muscle strength, tremors and balance problems may not be the first warning signs of Parkinson’s, experts say.
Instead, altered speech may strike before other symptoms of the disease, say the Lithuanian researchers.
More than 10 million people in the world are thought to have the disease, including Michael J. Fox, Billy Connolly and Jeremy Paxman.
Parkinson’s is caused by the loss of neurons in the area of the brain responsible for producing dopamine, which helps coordinate body movements.
Experts say the first warning sign of the disease, which causes muscle stiffness, tremors and balance problems, can be altered speech.
As more cells die, it gets worse over time, and patients increasingly struggle to complete daily activities.
However, as motor activity decreases, vocal cord, diaphragm, and lung functions decrease, experts say.
“Speech changes often precede motor function disorders,” says Ryts Maskeliūnas, data scientist at Kaunas University of Technology.
That is why ‘altered speech can be the first symptom of the disease” he said.
Professor Virgilijs Ulozas, who participated in the same study, found that patients with early-stage Parkinson’s could speak quietly.
This, he says, can be monotonous, less expressive, slower and more diffuse, and more difficult to perceive by ear.
The charity estimates that approximately 145,000 people in the UK and 500,000 in the US have Parkinson’s.
Symptoms of the disease, such as muscle stiffness, usually only appear when 80 percent of the neurons are lost.
But no tests can tell if a person has Parkinson’s.
But early detection can help manage the disease quickly, say leading neurologists.
A Lithuanian team is now working to find a way to detect Parkinson’s early through a mobile app.
Professor Maskeliūnas says the link between Parkinson’s and speech disorders has been clear since the 1960s, but technological advances have made it easier to analyze.
The researchers used AI to analyze and evaluate the speech samples of 61 Parkinson’s patients and 43 healthy volunteers.
A microphone was used to record the speech of both groups in a soundproof booth.
An AI algorithm was then used to process the copies and analyze the differences between them.
Professor Maskeliūnas ‘we are not creating a substitute for the patient’s regular examination – our method is designed to diagnose the disease early and monitor the effectiveness of the treatment.
They plan to expand the study to determine if this is the best way to diagnose Parkinson’s disease early.
Professor Maskeliūnas (pictured) says the link between Parkinson’s and speech disorders has been clear since the 1960s, but technological advances have made it easier to analyze.
However, Navina Kapoor, from Parkinson’s UK, says altered speech is a symptom for many but not all people with the condition.
She also said that long-term studies are needed to determine if AI can catch the disease in time.
“Currently, there is no definitive test to diagnose Parkinson’s,” Ms. Kapur said.
This study focuses on identifying altered speech as an early sign.
“The results were taken from people who have already been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, to confirm that the AI technology can identify altered speech as the first sign of Parkinson’s disease, participants who do not have this condition need to be studied for a long time to see if they develop the disease in the following years.
‘It would be great to see more research into early detection of Parkinson’s so that we have new ways that early intervention and treatment can help people live well with the disease.’