Treatment of habitual snoring with botulinum toxin: a pilot study

Kuehnel, T. S. and Schulte-Mattler, W. and Bigalke, H. and Wohlfarth, K. (2008) Treatment of habitual snoring with botulinum toxin: a pilot study. SLEEP AND BREATHING, 12 (1). pp. 63-68. ISSN 1520-9512,

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate whether injections of botulinum toxin into the soft palate reduce snoring in a subgroup of patients that present an active process causing habitual snoring. The study was conducted in eight patients with habitual snoring but without evidence of obstructive sleep apnea. Polysomnography was performed for diagnostic purposes and to monitor sleep quality before and after treatment. The patients and their partners completed a questionnaire before and after treatment. Recordings of snoring noise before and after treatment were evaluated on a visual analog scale by a blinded assessor. Doses of 20 U of botulinum toxin type A (Dysport (R)) were injected unilaterally into the muscles of the soft palate. Snoring was reduced in eight cases. The patients reported no major adverse effects. These results justify further studies of botulinum toxin therapy in patients with habitual snoring. The scheme presented for injections of botulinum toxin into the levator veli palatini muscle provides a rational basis for the design of such studies. Therapy with botulinum toxin for habitual snoring is safe, non-invasive, easy to perform, fully reversible, and thus warrants investigation under placebo-controlled, double-blind conditions. This treatment is appropriate for a disorder that is of paramount social importance but does not pose a medical threat to the individuals affected.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: LASER-ASSISTED UVULOPALATOPLASTY; ADULTS; snoring; sleep-related breathing disorder; botulinum toxin; therapy
Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medical sciences Medicine
Divisions: Medicine > Lehrstuhl für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde
Medicine > Lehrstuhl für Neurologie
Depositing User: Dr. Gernot Deinzer
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2020 08:39
Last Modified: 10 Nov 2020 08:39
URI: https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/31488

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