1/354. Antidepressant exacerbation of spasticity.patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) may develop depression. This may be related to adjustment to living with an SCI in addition to dealing with complications of the injury, such as spasticity. Pharmacologic treatment of depression can be difficult because of neurochemical and receptor changes that are associated with SCI. Newer antidepressant agents are purported to have selective activity by alteration of serotonergic neurotransmission. A case report is presented that illustrates exacerbation of spasticity by this family of antidepressant medications. Mechanisms possibly explaining this exacerbation of spasticity are the effects of serotonin on motor neuron and reflex activity, denervation supersensitivity, and the serotonin syndrome. Understanding the relationship between serotonergic systems and spasticity can be important in treating depression in patients with spasticity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/354. Symptoms of recurrent intrathecal baclofen withdrawal resulting from drug delivery failure: a case report.A 24-yr-old, completely (T8) paraplegic male patient presenting with severe spasticity had a drug administration device implanted in April 1991 for continuous intrathecal administration of baclofen. After a period of remarkable improvement in both the spasticity level and his quality of life, the patient experienced several short-lasting episodes of increased spasticity, with severe spasms. Among the possible causes of these deleterious episodes were microcrystalluria, obstipation, a decubitus ulcer, a foreign body in the buttocks, drug tolerance to baclofen, electromagnetic interference, and erroneous filling and programing of the pump. The catheter was the most common source of intrathecal baclofen withdrawal symptoms and had to be changed four times in 5 yr. Intrathecal baclofen administered through an implantable drug administration device is a highly effective but complex and expensive procedure that requires careful patient selection and close monitoring by highly qualified and well-trained health professional. Withdrawal symptoms may be related to noncompliance on the part of the patient, erroneous filling or programing of the pump, depletion of the battery, random component failure, concomitant illness, drug tolerance, or advancement of the disease itself. When failure of the device is suspected, substitution with oral baclofen is recommended until a full work-up is performed to determine the defect.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.33333333333333keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/354. Regression of vasomotor disorders under intrathecal baclofen in a case of spastic paraplegia.Continuous intrathecal baclofen infusion via a subcutaneously implanted programmable pump has been used in the treatment of severe spasticity. Improvement classically concerns the neurological (hypertonia, spasms, hyperreflexia), urological (bladder function) and other clinically relevant outcomes, such as functional status of daily living. This short note reports on another effect of intrathecal baclofen on vasomotor disorders and cyanosis in the lower limbs, described in a patient with spastic paraplegia.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.66666666666667keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/354. Successful intrathecal ethanol block for intractable spasticity of AIDS-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy of intrathecal ethanol block to relieve intractable spasticity in AIDS-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) when long-term intrathecal baclofen infusion cannot be used. methods: A 33-year-old man with AIDS-related PML developed very severe spastic paraparesis (Ashworth rigidity score, 4) and painful muscle spasms. The patient was unable to sit in his wheelchair and remained bed bound. Combined oral baclofen and tizanidine at therapeutical doses were used without any effect on the spasticity. The patient refused the placement of an intrathecal catheter for long-term baclofen infusion. A single intrathecal ethanol (6 ml) injection in the L2-L3 intervertebral space with the patient placed in a lateral Trendelenburg (40 C) position was performed. RESULTS: The procedure was very effective in improving the stiffness (Ashworth rigidity score. 2, after the technique) and the muscle spasms disappeared. No side effects during or after the injection were observed. CONCLUSION: Intrathecal ethanol block is a last but very useful choice for treatment of intractable spasticity in PML and other neurologic disorders in AIDS patients when other oral treatments have failed and intrathecal baclofen infusion is not suitable.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.88888888888889keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/354. Apneustic breathing in children with brainstem damage due to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.To confirm the presence of apneusis in patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and to clarify which factors influence their respiratory patterns, polygraphic studies were performed on two patients. Apneusis was clinically suspected in both patients who had severe brainstem damage. In one subject, inputs of vagal afferents from the gastrointestinal tract and the urinary bladder often resulted in extreme tachypnea instead of apneusis. lung inflation facilitated expiration during inspiratory arrest. Expiration preceded a periodic inhibition of rigospastic discharge in the right biceps muscle. In the other subject, prolonged inspiratory pauses with cyanosis occurred with or without preceding epileptic seizure. Both phenytoin dose reduction and treatment with tandospirone, a serotonin-1A agonist, were effective in improving the respiratory distress in this subject.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.11111111111111keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/354. Two female siblings with a previously unreported MCA/MR syndrome: pre- and postnatal growth retardation, iris colobomata, spasticity, facial dysmorphism and dilated ventricles.We report two siblings from non consanguineous parents with a similar MCA/MR syndrome: Pre- and postnatal growth retardation, microcephaly, mental retardation, iris colobomata, facial dysmorphism, spasticity, dilated ventricles and abnormal immunoglobulin levels. review of published reports and the use of the london Dysmorphology database suggests that these siblings may present a new syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.55555555555556keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/354. Continuous intrathecal pump infusion of baclofen with antibiotic drugs for treatment of pump-associated meningitis. Case report.Intrathecal baclofen administered by means of an implantable pump is being increasingly used for successful treatment of spasticity. meningitis following intrathecally administered baclofen is a rare but serious complication that is difficult to treat without removal of the pump. Because success rates with intravenously administered antibiotic drugs for the treatment of meningitis have been low, intrathecal administration of antibiotic agents is often required to eradicate the pathogen. The authors report the case of a patient in whom staphylococcus epidermidis meningitis developed after insertion of an intrathecal baclofen pump. The patient was successfully treated by intrathecal coadministration of vancomycin and baclofen.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.11111111111111keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/354. Ziconotide for the treatment of severe spasticity after spinal cord injury.Spasticity is a major clinical manifestation of spinal cord injury and upper motor neuron syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.44444444444444keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/354. Radiofrequency lesions of the dorsal root ganglion in the treatment of hip flexor spasm: a report of two cases.The current popular model of spasticity is that the abnormalities are primarily due to increased sensitivity of the reflex are at the segmental level of the spinal cord. neurosurgical procedures, such as open selective dorsal rhizotomy for the reduction of spasticity, have been based on this assumption. We describe two patients with hip flexor spasm of different origin treated with radiofrequency lesions of the dorsal root ganglion.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.22222222222222keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/354. An unusual case of hyperekplexia.Hyperekplexia is a rare paroxysmal disorder characterized by exaggerated startle response, hypertonia during infancy and a transient increase in tone following startle attacks. We report an unusual case of hyperekplexia in a young man. In addition to common symptoms of the condition, we found generalized spasticity persisting beyond infancy, and facial and skeletal dysmorphism. Because of an unsteady gait with frequent falls and raised serum creatine kinase levels, a congenital myopathy had been suspected in the past and an abnormal muscle biopsy had been documented. We diagnosed hyperekplexia at the age of 21 years on clinical grounds and following the response to pharmacological treatment. A mutation in the alpha1 subunit of the glycine receptor confirmed the diagnosis. A repeated needle muscle biopsy demonstrated mild myopathic changes, which we considered to be secondary to increased muscle tone. This case highlights the diagnostic difficulties of hyperekplexia, particularly in sporadic cases with unusual presentation.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.11111111111111keywords = spastic (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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