Influence of Methylphenidate on the Frequency of Stuttering

Abstract

This study showed that the participants had an objective statistically significant decrease in the frequency of stuttering with MPH, and this was not the case with placebo. This was also the case for a reduction in stutter moments when reading out loud and speaking spontaneously. However, this result was not subjectively perceived by the participants.

Methylphenidate and stuttering

“…In 2012, Devroey et al published a case report describing a healthy 18‐year‐old who had suffered from stuttering since childhood, and who experienced relief of stuttering symptoms after receiving MPH in a clinical trial designed for other purposes . Further to this report, Rabaeys et al (from the same institution) reported a randomized double‐blind crossover trial designed to reproduce this finding . They included 15 healthy young persons with developmental stuttering, who were treated by a single dose of MPH or placebo.…”

“…A statistically significant improvement in objective measures of stuttering was observed with MPH. Rabaeys et al suggested that MPH could be used to treat stuttering. In this study, it should be noted that subjects with ADHD, narcolepsy, and those with psychogenic or neurogenic stuttering were excluded.…”

“…3,4 Data concerning the combination of stuttering and MPH are contradictory. MPH has been suggested to be useful as a treatment for development stuttering, 5,6 whereas other authors have suggested that stuttering may be an adverse effect of MPH treatment. [7][8][9] In light of these contradictory data, we sought to investigate whether there is evidence of an increased risk of stuttering with MPH treatment in a large pharmacovigilance database, 10 using disproportionality analysis.…”

Improvement of stuttering after administration of methylphenidate - a case report

“…Abnormal dopamine activity in the basal ganglia has been shown to be strongly associated with stuttering [11], and it is hypothesized that an imbalance in dopamine activity may be linked to stuttering [12,13]. This hypothesis is also supported by several case reports and studies discussing the use of methylphenidate for patients with ADHD [8,[14][15][16]. It is reported that the use of methylphenidate successfully reduced stuttering in an 18-year-old patient [15].…”

Drug-Induced Stuttering: Occurrence and Possible Pathways

“…Five drugs in the top 20 drug–stuttering associations with the highest disproportionality in VigiBase are drugs prescribed for the treatment of ADHD ( Table 1 ). The paradoxical usage of the very same drug methylphenidate (acting via the dopamine pathway) in experimental treatment of stuttering ( 25 ) is dealt with below.…”