To: "VOCALIST" <vocalist>
Subject: Re: Spasmodic Dysphonia
Date sent: Thu, 09 Dec 1999 08:31:02 PST
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

On Wed, 8 Dec 1999 22:34:19 EST, SSzy1-at-aol.com wrote:
Have a new acquaintence who is afflicted with spasmodic dysphonia. Any
anecdotal and/or scientific information out there?
>Sharon Szymanski
> UNC - CH

Funny you should ask...
I'm just now putting off a paper that I have to write by next week for a
meeting coming up in January. I queried about 170 of our patients with
spasmodic dysphonia looking for possible causes. I found a lot of
similarities between them but no conections to any other known diseases.

The direct answer to your question is not really. There are a lot of nuts
out there who would have you try some random "new" treatment - we know
because they end up coming here after those failed. Sheduled BOTOX
(botulinum toxin) treatment is still the only available reliable treatment
out there.

I personally am hopeful that over the next five years I will have a better
idea of what causes it in he first place, and we can take this information
to help 'cure' it.

A note of caution - make sure they really HAVE SD - sometimes it's actually
a functional dysphonia which can be 'cured' with speech therapy.

John M. Schweinfurth, MD
Laryngology and Professional Voice Care
Assistant Professor
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
(615) 322-6180




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