Botulinum toxin A in the treatment of spasticity - An open label study.

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of botulinum toxin type A in spasticity in upper-motor neuron syndromes.

METHODS

Twenty-three patients with spasticity resulted from stroke-related hemiplegia, transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis took part in the study. Following the history and physical examinations of the patients, injections of botulinum toxin-A were applied. The dose ranged from 80 to 400 mouse unit (MU) depending on the size of the muscle injected. In all patients, spasticity, spasms and pain were measured using the Ashworth Scale, Spasm Frequency Score, and Visual Analogue Scale prior to the therapy, at the 1st week, 1st month and 3rd month of the therapy.

RESULTS

In all patients, botulinum toxin type A led to a significant decrease in spasticity, spasms and pain after the 1st week, 1st and 3 rd months of the treatment when compared to the baseline values (p<0.001). No significant side effects or complications were observed.

CONCLUSION

Our results have demonstrated that botulinum toxin type A is effective in the management of patients with spasticity due to stroke-related hemiplegia, transverse myelitis and multiple sclerosis, without major adverse effects.