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REM sleep behavior disorder and vocal cord paralysis in Machado-Joseph disease
Alex Iranzo1, Esteban Muñoz, Joan Santamaria
1Neurology Service, Institut Clínic Malalties del Sistema Nerviós, Hospital Clinic Universitari de Barcelona, Spain. airanzo@clinic.ub.es
Abstract:
We evaluated the occurrence of REM sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) in a group of 9 Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) patients. RBD was diagnosed by clinical history plus audiovisual polysomnography in 4 men and 1 woman (55%). While dreaming, 4 fell out of the bed and the other injured his arms. Laryngoscopy detected bilateral VCAP in 1 patient with stridor who required emergency tracheotomy, and partial vocal cord abductor restriction in 2. RBD and VCAP are two potentially injurious conditions that should be considered part of the clinical spectrum of MJD.
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