What medications can cause dysarthria?

Dysarthria is a speech disorder that results from weakness in the muscles involved in speaking. Some medications that affect the brain or nervous system, or muscles of speech, may result in dysarthria as a side effect. Classes of medications more frequently implicated in causing dysarthria include:

• Anti-seizure medicines
• Barbiturates
• Benzodiazepines
• Antipsychotic agents
• Botulinum toxin (Botox)

However, not every medicine within each of these classes may cause the disorder.

Some specific drugs that have been associated with dysarthria include:

• Carbamazepine
• Irinotecan
• Lithium
• Onabotulinum toxin A (Botox)
• Phenytoin
• Trifluoperazine

Dysarthria is a disorder of speech resulting from weakness or poor control of the muscles used in speaking. This includes muscles in the face, tongue, throat or lips, and also muscles that regulate breathing, like the diaphragm.

Dysarthria may look different in different people. Some may mumble or slur words, have uneven speech, speak softly or speak too slow or too fast. Dysarthria does not affect your ability to express your thoughts or understand the spoken word.

The cause of muscle weakness in dysarthria can be because of damage to the actual muscles, to the nervous system, or to parts of the brain that control muscle coordination, such as the cerebellum.

Dysarthria is most commonly caused by diseases or disorders of the brain or nervous system, such as:

• Stroke
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson's disease
• Cerebral palsy

It can also be caused by medications that affect these same areas of the body.