title: Zolpidem for postanoxic spasticity.
abstract: A 28-year-old male sustained anoxic brain damage following aborted cardiac arrest, and subsequently developed severe muscular rigidity and spasticity involving all extremities. The spasticity was refractory to the standard regimens used for spastic hypertonia. Zolpidem dramatically inhibited muscular rigidity, spasticity, and dystonic posturing in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in a sustained improvement of his global performance over four years. The authors postulate a central mechanism of action by selective inhibition of GABAergic inhibitory neurons, and suggest a controlled clinical study to investigate the potential efficacy of zolpidem in relieving spasticity related to postanoxic brain injury.
authors.affiliation: Divisions of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Neurology, and Chest Medicine, Scripps Clinic Sleep Center, La Jolla, CA, USA. ffshadan@Yahoo.com
authors.forename: Farhad F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Shadan
authors.forename: J Steven
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Poceta
authors.forename: Lawrence E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Kline
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018755:GABA Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D011725:Pyridines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077334:Zolpidem
chemical_list: D018755:GABA Agonists; D011725:Pyridines; D000077334:Zolpidem