title: Treatment of spasticity with botulinum toxin: a double-blind study.
abstract: 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 short-term trial. This is the first demonstration of the beneficial effect of botulinum toxin on focal spastic muscle contractions.
authors: Belzberg Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors: B J
authors: BJ
authors: Snow
authors: J K
authors: JK
authors: Tsui
authors: M H
authors: MH
authors: Bhatt
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Varelas
authors: S A
authors: SA
authors: Hashimoto
authors: D B
authors: DB
authors: Calne
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011897:Random Allocation; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D001905:Botulinum Toxins