Treatment of palatal myoclonus with botulinum toxin injection

Palato-Pharyngo-Laryngeal Rhythmic Myoclonus in Neuro-Bechet Syndrome: A Case Report

OBJECTIVE

Behcet's syndrome (BS) is a chronic, relapsing multisystemic inflammatory perivasculitis and can affect any tissue, including the nervous system. Neuro-Bechet's syndrome (NBS) most commonly affects the CNS parenchyma and presents with a subacute brainstem syndrome that includes cranial neuropathies. Here we describe a rare case of palato-pharyngo-laryngeal myoclonus as a manifestation of NBS and discuss it from a laryngology perspective.

METHODS

Case report at tertiary care center. Informed consent was obtained from patient. IRB approved as non-human subjects research.

RESULTS

A 52-year-old male presented with a progressive history of ataxia, fatigue, apathy, dysphagia, depressed mood, dizziness, poor appetite, subjective fever and recurrent orogenital lesions. He was diagnosed with NBS and treated with methylprednisolone, followed by infliximab and methotrexate. Despite treatment, his severe spastic dysarthria, dysphagia, and aspiration worsened over the next few months, necessitating a gastrotomy tube. With concern for laryngospasm, he was referred to otolaryngology and found to have synchronous and symmetric palatal, pharyngeal, and laryngeal rhythmic myoclonus bilaterally at a frequency of 2 Hz with inappropriate vocal cord closure. Treatment with baclofen and a scopolamine patch improved his breathing and reduced choking events.

CONCLUSIONS

Palato-pharyngo-laryngeal rhythmic myoclonus can be a presentation of brainstem NBS in the otolaryngology clinic. We theorize perivascular disease in NBS results in a brainstem lesion in the denato-rubro-olivary tract, which results in hypertrophic olivary degeneration and subsequent activation of the inferior olives oscillatory activity, causing palato-pharyngo-laryngeal rhythmic myoclonus. Common symptoms include significant dysarthria, dysphonia, and dysphagia with concern for obstructive sleep apnea and airway compromise. Treatments include pharmacologic therapy, laryngeal botox, and tracheostomy in cases of significant airway compromise.

Focal Unilateral Palatal Myoclonus Causing Objective Clicking Tinnitus without Uvula Elevation Diagnosed by Concurrent Auscultation

Palatal myoclonus generally entails a visible elevation of the palate and uvula and may be accompanied by myoclonus of other oropharyngeal muscles. A 55-year-old man presented with left ear clicking and hyperacusis. Examination showed arrhythmic left lateral soft palate contraction in the tensor veli palatini region without elevation of the uvula, which correlated with an audible click by auscultation with a stethoscope over the left ear. This is a rare case of focal, unilateral palatal myoclonus without visual uvula elevation with concurrent auscultation, demonstrating the importance of careful examination to detect focal myoclonic contractions.

A Moving Residual Limb: Botulinum Toxin to the Rescue

Movement disorders post-amputation are a rare complication and can manifest as the jumping stump phenomenon, a form of peripheral myoclonus. The pathophysiology remains unknown and there is currently no standardized treatment. We describe the case of a 57-year-old male with unremitting stump myoclonus, starting one month after transtibial amputation, in his residual limb without associated phantom or neurological pain. The consequence of the myoclonus was a reduction in prosthetic wearing time. Failure to respond to oral medication led us to attempt the use of botulinum neurotoxin Type A injections in the involved muscles of the residual limb. Injection trials, over a two-year period, resulted in an improvement of movement disorder, an increased prosthetic wearing time and a higher satisfaction level of the patient. Injection of botulinum toxin type A should be considered as an alternative treatment for stump myoclonus to improve prosthetic wearing time and comfort.

Botulinum toxin treatment for essential palatal tremors presenting with nasal clicks instead of pulsatile tinnitus: a case report

Background

In this study, we report a rare case of an adult patient with essential palatal tremors (EPT) presenting as nasal clicks, instead of otic clicks or objective pulsatile tinnitus in common EPT.

Case presentation

Nasal endoscopic examination and EMG recordings of the soft palate muscles were performed to confirm the source of the clicks. Initial treatment with lidocaine provided symptomatic relief for four hours. The patient was then treated with four simultaneous injections of 12.5 U of botulinum toxin in four different sites of the soft palate. Palatal tremors and clicks completely disappeared within three months of treatment.

Conclusions

To our knowledge, this is the first case of EPT that presented with nasal clicks. We recommend that otolaryngologists should expect this rare occurrence in the clinical setting, and handle patients presenting with such symptoms with care and compassion in order not to worsen their psychological status.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13005-016-0129-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Essential rhythmic palatal myoclonus in a 51-year-old man

Essential palatal myoclonus is a rare movement disorder consisting of continuous rhythmic jerks of the soft palate; it usually develops secondary to brainstem or cerebellar disease called symptomatic rhythmic palatal myoclonus. Diagnosis is usually clinical, and some patients, however, fail to show evidence of a structural lesion like our patient called essential rhythmic palatal myoclonus. We report a 51-year-old man who has suffered from the condition and showed improvements on treatments.