Sleep disorder drug can benefit patients of laryngeal dystonia: study

Researchers have discovered that a drug used to treat a sleep disorder can benefit people with laryngeal dystonia (LD) — a neurological condition that makes the voice of a person sound hoarse and strained due to spasming of vocal cords. 

BBC reports that some of the volunteers who underwent the treatment of sodium oxybate found out that it eased their speech delivery and voice in a similar way that alcohol does but without intoxicating them. 

LD has grabbed attention since US President-elect Donald Trump appointed Robert F Kennedy JR to his new White House administration as the politician suffers from the condition too.

The condition is often treated with botox injections but the solution turns out to be ineffective for up to 40% of the patients suffering from the disease, researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital say.

"We hear many stories of broken lives and careers from patients with laryngeal dystonia and they have been desperate for new treatments,” lead investigator Dr Kristina Simonyan said. 

"Our trial gives us hope for a new, effective treatment that can be offered to some of these patients,” she added. 

Simonyan’s team decided to try treating the problem with low-dose sodium oxybate as some patients said their LD symptoms eased after a few alcoholic drinks. 

The researchers first gave 106 LD patients vodka shots as part of the treatment after which 56 of them showed no improvements whereas the other 50 did experience ease in speech. 

At another date, all of the volunteers participating in the study were given a single dose of sodium-oxybate while some were given a dummy or a placebo. 

Just as the vodka shots showed no signs of improvement for 56 volunteers, the drug presented no improvement in them while the remaining 50, who were from the alcohol responder group, did show positive effects for five hours. 

The researchers report that the volunteers did show some mild side effects like nausea and dizziness but they were of no serious consequences and they are now starting a larger phase of the study. 

"Our findings suggest that sodium oxybate can be taken on an as-needed basis, such as before work or a social event, so patients can tailor treatment to their own daily needs and get in control of their symptoms," they said.

"Dr Simonyan’s work gives promising data for an effective alternative treatment option and future hope to our service users who suffer from this debilitating communication disorder,” said Jemma Haines from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. 

Dayna Ferdinadni of Dystonia UK stated that even though the study showed promising signs, it still needed to be further worked on. 

"The drug has not yet been approved by NICE [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] or the NHS for use in treating dystonia and further rigorous evaluation is needed to assess its safety, efficacy, and long-term impact," she said.

"We welcome any research into dystonia, but it is crucial that new treatments undergo thorough scrutiny before being considered for widespread use,” she added.