Profile of laryngological abnormalities in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Few studies have described laryngological evaluation of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We assessed the laryngological abnormalities of 35 such patients (24 bulbar onset and 11 limb onset). In nine limb onset patients, we discovered signs of early vagal nerve dysfunction, prior to any clinical presentation of bulbar failure. However, in all bulbar onset patients studied, we noticed changes in the uni/bilateral position of the vocal folds and in the voice quality.