This narrative review provides a comprehensive and clinically relevant overview of laryngeal dystonia (LD), covering its pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment options. The authors summarise the evidence supporting LD as a neurogenic movement disorder involving dysfunction of central sensorimotor networks, moving beyond outdated psychogenic theories. The discussion of adductor and abductor subtypes, as well as rarer variants such as singer’s dystonia, enhances the article’s educational value. A major strength is the detailed review of diagnostic approaches, including clinical assessment, videostroboscopy, laryngeal electromyography and emerging acoustic analysis techniques. The inclusion of Ludlow’s three-tiered diagnostic framework provides practical guidance for clinicians. The treatment section is particularly comprehensive, outlining botulinum toxin injection techniques, surgical interventions and emerging neuromodulatory therapies. The review has limited discussion of comparative outcomes, levels of evidence and standardised treatment algorithms. However, overall, this is a well-written and up-to-date review that serves as a valuable resource for otolaryngologists, laryngologists, speech-language pathologists and neurologists. It highlights current best practices while identifying important areas for future research in diagnostic biomarkers and disease-modifying therapies.
Laryngeal dystonia
Reviewed by Gauri Mankekar
Laryngeal dystonia: a comprehensive review of aetiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment approaches.
CONTRIBUTOR
Gauri Mankekar
Department of Otolaryngology-Head Neck Surgery, Louisiana State University Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.
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