A common condition for people with MND

One of the presentations described a study of a condition known as Burning Mouth Sydrome (BMS). Literally, BMS is the name given to burning sensations in the oral cavity, tongue or mucous membranes - the cause of which remains a mystery. BMS is estimated to affect 1-5% of the general population. Margie Zoing and Matthew Kiernan based at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia were prompted to conduct a study into the frequency of this condition in people with MND after someone with the bulbar form of MND commented on it. The tingling and burning sensations that they had experienced in their mouth had a negative impact on their daily living and on their quality of life.

Thirty seven patients were studied, where the symptoms were identified in a patient survey, clinical examinations and blood screening. BMS was found to be nearly three times as common in people with MND compared to the general population. The condition was more common in people who first saw MND symptoms in their limbs. In severe cases of burning mouth syndrome, administration of 10mg of the tricyclic antidepressant amitryptiline was found to be helpful.

This report was sent in by one of the Association’s regional staff, “I have met people with Burning Mouth Syndrome and I was quite struck by the high percentage of people with MND the study found to have BMS. I thought this would be a useful clinical study to feed back to people” she commented in her accompanying email.