About Video

The patient answers questions in a husky voice. In this condition, the abductor muscles of the larynx undergo dystonic spasms. Voice is affected only while speaking but is normal when the patient sings cries, or shouts. It increases with anxiety and persists throughout life. The vocal cord is composed of an anterior membranous and a posterior cartilaginous part between the medial surface of the body of the two arytenoids cartilages. Since the vocal cord is open, the membranous part cannot vibrate while speaking and therefore the husky voice is produced. It is considered as a variety of task-specific focal dystonia and may coexist with dystonia elsewhere, when it represents multifocal dystonia. It may be familial and though several genes are implicated, mutation in THAP1 gene is the most common association with this condition. Injection of botulinum toxin under laryngoscopic and electromyographic guidance may be of some help.