Treatment for Vocal Tremor

Vocal tremor is characterized by a rhythmic undulating vocal quality whenever talking, much akin to vibrato that can not be turned off. In the past, it was felt that use of botulinum toxin type A ( botox ) to treat vocal tremor was not possible nor realistic given the multiple muscle groups involved. This is in contrast to dystonias of the voice (i.e., spasmodic dysphonia ) where only one muscle group is involved and is readily and easily treated with botox injections to the affected vocal co…

7/13/2013 0

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Compact EMG System for Targeted Muscle Injections

An EMG system ( E lectro M yo G raphy) is a critical piece of equipment when it comes to targeted muscle injections in and around the neck, especially when you cannot see or feel the muscle. This scenario is especially true when dealing with spasmodic dysphonia for which targeted botox injections are quite helpful. Given the muscles that need to be injected are contained inside the voicebox and not able to be seen and felt from outside the neck, accurate injection is quite difficult withou…

1/12/2013 1

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Respiratory Spasmodic Dysphonia

Respiratory spasmodic dysphonia is one of the most rare subtypes of a class of laryngeal dystonia collectively known as spasmodic dysphonia . It is also known more accurately as laryngeal adductor breathing dystonia or respiratory spasmodic dystonia or respiratory laryngeal dystonia. Introduction Spasmodic dysphonia is a type of dystonia in which there are involuntary muscle spasms or contractions of the muscles involved in voice production. This disorder is similar to the involuntary…

10/11/2011 0

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Distributed Botox Injection for Spasmodic Dysphonia (Rather than Single Injection)

For many patients with spasmodic dysphonia , botox injections to the vocal cords are a regular right of passage every few months towards a clearer voice. Spasmodic dysphonia characterized by spastic or breathy voice breaks while talking causes much problems socially as well as misunderstandings. For many physicians who perform botox injections for spasmodic dysphonia, a single injection is performed to either one or both vocal cords. However a few and perhaps growing number of physicians…

11/25/2010 1

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NYT: Can botox stop essential tremor (hand, face, etc)?

On April 22, 2010, the New York Times published a short story entitled " Can Botox Stop the Hands From Shaking? " The story goes on to report that "Intramuscular injections of Botox , or botulinum toxin, may play a limited role in the treatment of wrist and voice tremors in patients with essential tremor." Indeed, I do agree with the "limited" role botox has on essential tremor (emphasis on limited) whether the tremor involves the hand or head/neck region wh…

4/25/2010 1

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Possible Dystonia (Rare Neurological Condition) After Flu Shot

Desiree Jennings, a former Redskins cheerleader, received a seasonal flu shot on Aug 23, 2009 and has suffered from a possible dystonia reaction from the flu vaccination resulting in difficulties in eating, talking, and walking. Here is a link to a video where Dr. Stephen Grill (neurologist) is interviewed by Fox News regarding Desiree's condition. Here is a video/article of the initial story. This story is a case of a VERY unfortunate EXTREMELY rare side effect (if true) of the fl…

10/26/2009 1

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