The term spasmodic dysphonia is a recent one, suggested by Aronson et al. (1968b), as a replacement for the term spastic dysphonia. The new term was advocated because "the term spastic is commonly used to imply disease of ... pyramidal pathways", while the neurological evidence in the Aronson research concerned the extrapyramidal system. Further, Aronson et al. observed that "the strained voice...

Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a rare disease caused by focal dystonia in the laryngeal muscles. The adductor type SD (AdSD), which affects thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle, found 80% of all patients. For them, voice therapy and medication are less effective definitive surgical treatment has not been established yet. Botulinum toxin injection considered gold standard treatment. However, patients require...

UNLABELLED Respiratory dystonia is a rare and difficult to diagnose disorder, that causes breathing restriction of various degrees. The objective of the study is to report the case of a patient with respiratory dystonia involving the larynx and the pharynx and its evolution concerning spasms intensity and control. CASE REPORT A 24 year-old-man has been followed for 5 years. The diagnosis was ...

Muscle spindles are increasingly recognized as playing a pivotal role in the cause of dystonia. This development and own laryngeal observations that support the idea of causally "well-intentioned" stuttering motivated us to present the following hypothesis: stuttering events compensate for a sensory problem that arises when the abductor/adductor ratio of afferent impulse rates from the posterio...

OBJECTIVE Our ability to speak is complex, and the role of the central nervous system in controlling speech production is often overlooked in the field of otolaryngology. In this brief review, we present an integrated overview of speech production with a focus on the role of central nervous system. The role of central control of voice production is then further discussed in relation to the pote...

after parkinsonism, dystonia is the movement disorder most commonly encountered in movement disorder clinics. it is defined as a syndrome of sustained muscle contractions, frequently causing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. dystonia is classified in three ways: age at onset, body distribution of abnormal movements, and etiology. the etiologic classification identifies fou...

Muscular tension dysphonia, episodic laryngospasm, globus, and cough may be considered to be hyperfunctional laryngeal symptoms. Suggested etiological factors for these symptoms include gastroesophageal reflux, psychological problems, and/or dystonia. We propose a unifying hypothesis that involves neural plastic change to brainstem laryngeal control networks through which each of the above etio...