Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams has a weird syndrome that makes it so he loses his voice for long periods of time. Weird considering his alter ego, Dilbert, has no mouth.
Adams, 49, appears to be a rare example of someone who has largely _ but not totally _ recovered from Spasmodic Dysphonia, a mysterious disease in which parts of the brain controlling speech shut down or go haywire. As many as 30,000 Americans are afflicted, typically in their 40s and 50s, experts say.
One of the most peculiar aspects of SD is that victims are typically unable to have intimate conversations in their normal voice. Yet they can speak under different circumstances, such as immediately after sneezing or laughing, or in an exaggerated falsetto or baritone, or while reciting poetry, according to SD support groups.
Source: AP
-LB
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