Premium
Treatment of spasticity with botulinum toxin: A double‐blind study
Author(s) -
Snow Barry J.,
Tsui Joseph K. C.,
Bhatt Mohit H.,
Varelas Michael,
Hashimoto Stanley A.,
Calne Donald B.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410280407
Subject(s) - spasticity , botulinum toxin , spastic , placebo , medicine , crossover study , adverse effect , double blind , anesthesia , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , cerebral palsy , pathology , alternative medicine
We studied the effect of botulinum‐A toxin on spasticity of the leg adductors in 9 patients who were either chair‐bound or bed‐bound with chronic stable multiple sclerosis. We injected botulinum toxin (400 mouse units) or placebo into the adductor muscles in a randomized, crossover, double‐blind design. Two physicians, who were unaware of the treatment order, used an objective rating scale and independently assessed the patients; interobserver correlation was excellent ( r = 0.93‐0.81). We found that botulinum toxin produced a significant reduction in spasticity ( p = 0.009) and a significant improvement in the ease of nursing care( p = 0.009). There were no adverse effects during this shortterm trial. This is the first demonstration of the beneficial effect of botulinum toxin on focal spastic muscle contractions.