The content validity of the Tardieu Scale and the Ashworth Scale was assessed in 27 independently ambulant children with cerebral palsy (gender: 17 males, 10 females; age: 5-9 years; Gross Motor Function Classification: level I and II). Ashworth and Tardieu Scale scores and laboratory measures of spasticity and contracture were collected from the plantarflexor muscles by 2 examiners who were bl...

J Rehabil Med Suppl 41, 2003 DOI 10.1080/16501960310010151 Botulinum toxin is a potent neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. There are seven serotypes, all of which block the release of acetylcholine from nerve endings, which gives the compound its theoretical base for reducing spasticity. Initial studies of the use of botulinum toxin in the management of spasticity were p...

Implantation of an intrathecal baclofen pump is recommended for children with cerebral palsy as a means to improve care and comfort when other options fail to control severe hypertonia. Making an assessment of a child's spasticity-related limitations in both routine care and activity is a necessary component of selection of intrathecal baclofen candidates. The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicag...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Our initial aim was to generate cannabinoid agents that control spasticity, occurring as a consequence of multiple sclerosis (MS), whilst avoiding the sedative side effects associated with cannabis. VSN16R was synthesized as an anandamide (endocannabinoid) analogue in an anti-metabolite approach to identify drugs that target spasticity. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Following t...

background: consequences of cerebral palsy in adulthood can affect physical, psychological capabilities and quality of life. the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between quality of life with spasticity and level of motor function in iranian young adults with spastic cerebral palsy who were community dweller. methods: in an analytical cross sectional study, 77 participan...

Spasticity is a common and disabling symptom observed in patients with central nervous system diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease affecting both upper and lower motor neurons. In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spasticity is traditionally thought to be the result of degeneration of the upper motor neurons in the cerebral cortex, although degeneration of other neuronal ty...

Perhaps among the central nervous system (CNS) conditions with muscle hyperactivity, dystonia and spasticity figure as those that are disabling and requiring therapeutic intervention. Dystonia is a neurological syndrome characterized by sustained muscle contractions usually producing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The sustained movements of dystonia may have overlying s...

The mechanical properties of isolated single muscle fiber segments were measured in muscle cells obtained from patients undergoing surgery for correction of flexion contractures secondary to static perinatal encephalopathy (cerebral palsy). "Normal" muscle cells from patients with intact neuromuscular function were also mechanically tested. Fiber segments taken from subjects with spasticity dev...

About 20 years ago, I first joined the spasticity measurement research group at biosignal laboratory (leaded by Dr. Jia-Jin Jason Chen) of Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University. At that time, the limitation of clinical approach for spasticity evaluation was initially noted by the researchers [1]. We developed our first quantitative measurement system based on drive...

Spasticity is a common disabling feature of multiple sderosis. A variety of drugs are in regular use as oral treatment induding badofen, dantrolene, tizanidine, and diazepam. Published evidence of effectiveness is limited. Most trials are of small size, of short duration, and have not reported on functional outcomes. Studies have been published which suggest that badofen, tizanidine, and diazep...