Imagine your doctor prescribing you a shot of vodka or whiskey to bring you some relief. Well, a new study out of Boston shows the promise of an alcohol-mimicking drug for patients with the debilitating neurological voice disorder, laryngeal dystonia (LD). The researchers from Mass Eye and Ear found that an oral medication, sodium oxybate, can give LD patients back their voice.
This groundbreaking clinical trial was borne out of anecdotal reports that LD patients experienced symptom improvements after having a couple alcoholic drinks. Sodium oxybate mimics the effects of alcohol without the intoxication, and the researchers found that the drug is more effective than a placebo at reducing LD symptoms in patients whose symptoms improve when they consume alcohol. “We hear many stories of broken lives and careers from patients with laryngeal dystonia and they have been desperate for new treatments,” said lead author Kristina Simonyan , vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Mass Eye and Ear.
“Our trial gives us hope for a new, effective treatment that can be offered to some of these patients,” added Simonyan, who’s also professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School. “There’s a lot of interest from the dystonia community, and we get many calls from patients asking, ‘When will this drug be available? How can I have a prescription?’ ” Laryngeal dystonia, known previously as spasm.
