A Spirometric and Kinematic Analysis of Respiratory Function in Pseudobulbar Palsy

Abstract

The respiratory abilities of a group of five subjects with pseudobulbar palsy due to cerebrovascular disease were compared with those of a non-neurologically impaired control group matched for age and sex. Spirometric assessment showed that most of the pseudobulbar palsy group had vital capacities that were reduced from normal. In addition, the subjects with pseudobulbar palsy exhibited a number of abnormal movements of the chest wall during performance of sustained vowel and syllable repetition tasks. These abnormalities included abrupt changes in the relative contributions of the rib cage and abdomen to lung volume reduction in small and frequent motion jerks. The same irregularities were not present in the chest wall movements exhibited by the control subjects suggesting that their presence was in some way related to the pseudobulbar palsy. Kinematic assessment during reading showed an absence of respiratory irregularities in both the control and pseudobulbar palsy groups. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of pseudobulbar palsy on neuromuscular function.