Summary of findings 9. Buspirone versus placebo for speech disorder in Friedreich ataxia and other hereditary ataxias.
| Buspirone for speech disorder in Friedreich ataxia and other hereditary ataxias | ||||||
| Patient or population: people with speech disorder in Friedreich ataxia and other hereditary ataxias Settings: hospital Intervention: buspirone | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| Placebo | Buspirone | |||||
| Short‐term (1 week) percentage change (improvement) in overall speech production | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 0 (0) | See comment | Not an outcome in this study |
| Short‐term (within 1 month) change in isolated movement, objective and subjective measures of speech production ICARS. Follow‐up: mean 12 weeks | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 19 (1 cross‐over study) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low1,2,3 | Speech subscales were not reported separately from overall ICARS scores. No difference between groups |
| Short‐term (within 1 month) change in quality of life scores related to communication as measured by validated communication assessments | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 0 (0) | See comment | Not an outcome in this study |
| Longer‐term (minimum 1 month) change in generic quality of life scores | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 0 (0) | See comment | Not an outcome in this study |
| Adverse effects (during study) | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 19 (1 cross‐over study) | See comment | Minor adverse events included dizziness in 5 participants (4 buspirone, 1 placebo) and drowsiness in 4 participants (3 buspirone and 1 placebo) |
| Longer‐term burdens (minimum 1 month) (for example, demands on caregivers, frequency of tests, restrictions on lifestyle) | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 0 (0) | See comment | Not an outcome in this study |
| Economic outcomes | See comment | See comment | Not estimable | 0 (0) | See comment | Not an outcome in this study |
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% CI) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: confidence interval; ICARS: International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale; RR: risk ratio | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate. | ||||||
1Speech was measured on a subjective scale. 2The speech subscale of ICARS was not reported separately from the total score. 3Genetically confirmed Friedreich ataxia and SCA were analysed in same group as idiopathic ataxias. Data were not presented for genetically confirmed ataxias only.