Effect of ketogenic diet versus regular diet on voice quality of patients with Parkinson's disease

Diets that have effects on health problems can vary in their composition. Whilst following a regular diet(RD)a persontypically consumes about 30% of calories from fat. Ketogenic diet (KD) is a form of diet whereby a person consumes as much as 90% of calories from fat. KD has been trialed as a treatment for neurological diseases and obesity. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurologic disease that impacts the quality of voice. Voice Handicap Index (VHI) is a test that gives information to clinical and physiological assessment about voice. We assessed the impact of KD and RD on voice quality (VQ). Seventy-four patients with PD who reported a voice disorder related to their disease were randomly assigned to the KD or RD groups. We investigated the VHI change of subjects before and 3 months after diet. Sixty-eight PD patients completed the study. Baseline VHI values did not differ significantly between groups. All mean VHI parameters improved in KD group (p< 0.001). Currently there are different therapies that address speech and voice disorders in patients with PD. As such KD may be an alternative therapy to improve VQ of patients with PD. A larger sample size is necessary to determine the role and pathophysiology of KD on VQ of PD patients.

Automated summary

Different diets may have varying effects on health issues, with the ketogenic diet (KD) being trialed as a treatment for neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease (PD). A study compared KD and regular diet (RD) on voice quality (VQ) in 68 PD patients with voice disorders, showing significant improvement in VQ parameters in the KD group. Further research with a larger sample size is needed to understand the role of KD on VQ in PD patients.