Botulinum toxin injection in laryngeal dyspnea.

Data, regarding the use of botulinum toxin (BT-A) in laryngeal dyspnea, are scarce, coming from some cases reports in the literature, including Vocal fold paralysis, laryngeal dystonia, vocal cord dysfunction also called paradoxical motion of the vocal fold (PMVF), and post-neuroleptic laryngeal dyskinesia. There is no consensus regarding the muscles and the doses to inject. The aim of this study is to present a retrospective review of patients treated in our ENT Department by BT-A injection in this indication. This study is a retrospective study describing patients who underwent an injection of botulinum toxin for laryngeal dyspnea in the ENT Department from 2005 to 2015 years. The inclusion criteria were a dyspnea associated with a laryngeal dysfunction, confirmed by flexible fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopy. Information concerning the causes of the dyspnea, the botulinum toxin BT-A injections procedure, post-injection follow-up, and respiratory outcome were collected for all patients included. In the group of 13 patients included, the main cause identified as principal factor linked with the short breath was: a bilateral VF paralysis (Patel et al., Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 130:686-689, 7), laryngeal dystonia (Balkissoon and Kenn, Semin Respir Crit Care Med 33:595-605, 2), Anxiety syndrome associated with unilateral vocal fold paralysis or asthma (Marcinow et al., Laryngoscope 124:1425-1430, 3), and an isolated asthma (Zwirner et al., Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 254:242-245, 1). Nine out of the thirteen patients were improved by the injections. A BT-A-induced stable benefit for four patients led them to stop the injections in the follow-up. Good outcome was observed in five other patients (main cause: bilateral VP paralysis), allowing a progressive lengthening of the delay between BT-A injections. Four patients did not report a positive risk/benefit ratio after BT-A injections; two of them (with bilateral VF paralysis), because of respiratory side effects and lack of benefit without the side effects for the two others. This failure of effect was not related with BT-A doses injected. This study provides support for using BT-A injections as a symptomatic treatment of periodic laryngeal dyspnea, regardless of the etiologic context. From our data, we suggest that a small starting dose (of around 4 U BT-A Botox®) could be enough for a first injection to obtain a good benefit. The target muscle should be determined by the EMG analysis.

Borderline personality disorder and rTMS: a pilot trial.

A randomized, controlled study was carried out to assess the effect of a series of 10 sessions of high-frequency rTMS to the right DLPFC in 10 Borderline Personality Disorder patients. Patients in the rTMS group showed improvements in anger, affective instability (Borderline Personality Disorder Severity Index) and planning (Tower Of London). Two smoking cessations were observed.

Neuronal activity correlated with checking behaviour in the subthalamic nucleus of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Doubt, and its behavioural correlate, checking, is a normal phenomenon of human cognition that is dramatically exacerbated in obsessive-compulsive disorder. We recently showed that deep brain stimulation in the associative-limbic area of the subthalamic nucleus, a central core of the basal ganglia, improved obsessive-compulsive disorder. To understand the physiological bases of symptoms in such patients, we recorded the activity of individual neurons in the therapeutic target during surgery while subjects performed a cognitive task that gave them the possibility of unrestricted repetitive checking after they had made a choice. We postulated that the activity of neurons in this region could be influenced by doubt and checking behaviour. Among the 63/87 task-related neurons recorded in 10 patients, 60% responded to various combinations of instructions, delay, movement or feedback, thus highlighting their role in the integration of different types of information. In addition, task-related activity directed towards decision-making increased during trials with checking in comparison with those without checking. These results suggest that the associative-limbic subthalamic nucleus plays a role in doubt-related repetitive thoughts. Overall, our results not only provide new insight into the role of the subthalamic nucleus in human cognition but also support the fact that subthalamic nucleus modulation by deep brain stimulation reduced compulsive behaviour in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The effects of botulinum toxin injections into the cricopharyngeus muscle of patients with cricopharyngeus dysfunction associated with pharyngo-laryngeal weakness.

This prospective, open study was carried out in order to assess changes in the swallowing and dietary status after injection of Botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) into the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) in a series of patients with cricopharyngeus (CP) muscle dysfunction associated with pharyngo-laryngeal weakness during at least 1 year follow-up after treatment. Patients who had a cricopharyngeus (CP) muscle dysfunction associated with pharyngo-laryngeal weakness and who were at risk for aspiration were included in the study. The upper border of the cricoid cartilage was identified and the CP muscle localized using a standard electromyogram (EMG). The dose of BoNT-A was determined depending on the results of EMG performed just before the injection. Outcomes were assessed by the penetration-aspiration scale (PAS), the level of residue in the pyriform sinus and the National Institute of Health-Swallow Safety Scale (NIH-SSS) on a video fluoroscopic swallowing (VFSS) assessment, the patient's subjective impressions of their ability to swallow by the Deglutition Handicap Index (DHI), and changes in dietary status by the Functional Oral Intake Scale. Eleven patients underwent the complete assessment of swallowing function at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. After the first set of treatment, seven patients had a good response and four did not respond. A significant decrease in the PAS score (p = 0.03), the amount of residue (p = 0.04) and the NIH-SSS score (p = 0.03) was observed 3 months after the injection in comparison with the first VFSS before the treatment. A relapse of dysphagia occurred in 3 out of the 11 treated patients; at 3 and 4 months for 2 patients with a Wallenberg syndrome, and at 11 months for a patient with cranial nerve paralysis after a surgery for a glomus tumor. Two of them underwent a second injection. One patient had a good response and remained stable for at least 1 year. The second did not respond either to the second injection or to a myotomy of the cricopharyngeal muscle. The third one is waiting for further surgery (myotomy). Therefore, at the end of the study and after a follow-up of at least 12 months, 5 patients out of the 11 enrolled had a good result. Percutaneous injection of BoNT-A into the UES can be a useful solution to improve cricopharyngeal dysfunction, despite the underlying pharyngo-laryngeal weakness.

Does ageing influence deep brain stimulation outcomes in Parkinson's disease?

We sought to define the influence of ageing in clinical, cognitive, and quality-of-life outcomes after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD). We performed motor assessment (UPDRS), mood tests, cognitive, and quality of life evaluation (PDQ-39) on PD patients before surgery, and 12 and 24 months after, and we recorded adverse events. The variations of these parameters after surgery were correlated with age using regression statistical tests. Cerebral bleeding risk was evaluated by a nonparametric test. We enrolled 45 patients (mean age 60 +/- 9 years, range 40-73). No significant correlation was found between age and motor scores and PDQ-39 improvements at 12 months. At 24 months, there was a significant negative correlation between age and the improvement of three dimensions of PDQ 39 (mobility, activities of daily life, and cognition). Cognitive impairment showed no correlation, but apathy and depression were positively correlated with age. Significant statistical difference was observed between cerebral bleeding and age. STN-DBS is an effective treatment for elderly patients with advanced PD. A longer follow-up duration and a larger population seem necessary to better assess the quality of life perception in elderly patients and to determinate the real risk of hemorrage.