Tizanidine (DS 103-282) in the treatment of acute paravertebral muscle spasm: a controlled trial comparing tizanidine and diazepam.

In a double-blind trial tizanidine (DS 103-282: 5-Chloro-4-(2-imidazolin-2-yl-amino)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole), a new muscle relaxant, was compared with diazepam in twenty in-patients suffering from acute paravertebral muscle spasm. All the patients had suffered from degenerative spinal disease for some years. Ten patients received tizanidine and the other ten received diazepam. Both drugs were administered t.i.d. for a period of 7 days. Significant improvements were reported in eight of the sixteen variables. Tizanidine was significantly superior to diazepam for two of these variables (lateral flexion of the lumbar spine, right and left). A centrally mediated blood-pressure-lowering effect was observed with both drugs. Tizanidine was generally better tolerated, only two patients reporting transient side-effects compared with five patients in the diazepam group. Like diazepam, tizanidine is a suitable drug for the treatment of acute paravertebral muscle spasm.