Spasmodic Dysphonia clinical trials at University of California Health

Spasmodic Dysphonia (SD) is a neurologic condition causing inappropriate contraction of the laryngeal musculature, leading to abnormal voicing. The three types (adductor, abductor, and mixed) affect varying muscle groups which produce characteristic voice patterns. The vast majority of patients with SD have adductor type, which impacts the lateral cricoarytenoid and thyroarytenoid muscle complex. While many treatment modalities have been investigated, the most effective treatment is botulinum toxin injection to these muscle groups, performed transcervically with or without electromyography (EMG) guidance. Patients undergoing this treatment typically require re-injection every 3 months. Due to its specialized nature, the laryngeal injections are not performed routinely outside of academic medical centers; thus, patients may come from a distance to receive this treatment. Both due to the significant impact on voice quality when the injections wear off and the sometimes challenging access to treatment, a longer-acting agent is desired. Injectible daxibotuliumtoxinA (DAXI, Revance Therapeutics Inc., Newark, CA) has been shown in large clinical trials to provide safe, effective treatment for glabellar lines and cervical dystonia and may offer a longer-lasting result when compared with onabotulinumtoxinA. Thus, a study examining the effect of DAXI for patients with adductor spasmodic dysphonia is proposed. This study aims to assess the efficacy of DAXI for transcervical laryngeal injection in patients with adductor spasmodic dysphonia.