Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Pseudobulbar paralysis
HP:0007024
What it means
Bilateral impairment of the function of the cranial nerves 9-12, which control musculature involved in eating, swallowing, and speech. Pseudobulbar paralysis is characterized clinically by dysarthria, dysphonia, and dysphagia with bifacial paralysis, and may be accompanied by Pseudobulbar behavioral symptoms such as enforced crying and laughing.
Rare diseases that can present with this14
Common30–79%
3Sometimes5–29%
10- Acute intermittent porphyria
- Autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia type 26
- Bilateral parasagittal parieto-occipital polymicrogyria
- Bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria
- Bilateral polymicrogyria
- Macrocephaly-intellectual disability-left ventricular non compaction syndrome
- RARS-related autosomal recessive hypomyelinating leukodystrophy
- Secondary syringomyelia
and 2 more in this range
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Pseudobulbar palsy · Pseudobulbar syndrome
Tracking symptoms like this for someone? Eleplan keeps symptoms, diagnoses, medications and every specialist in one plan.
Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.