Voice and speech disorders in Alzheimer’s disease: A state-of-the-art review

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia in the world. This manuscript attempts to review the current knowledge of neurolaryngology and speech and language therapy in Alzheimer’s disease in order to distinguish it from other neurodegenerative diseases. Only a limited number of studies carried out on Alzheimer’s disease patients with speech or laryngeal disorders are found in the literature. Laryngeal (dysphonia, dysphagia, dry mucosa…) and speech symptoms (aphasic, rhythm alterations…) appear to exist even in the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease, though not very prominently nor specifically. Prospective studies with large cohorts are warranted to further validate these findings in order to help us distinguish between Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.