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Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair
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Testing an Antispasticity Drug (Tetrazepam) with the Pendulum Test: A Monocentric Pilot Study

Heinrich E. Kaeser, MD

Rehabilitation Center and HRI of Rehabilitation Research, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

Hans Gihring, MD

Rehabilitation Center and HRI of Rehabilitation Research, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

Reinhard Bergmann

Rehabilitation Center and HRI of Rehabilitation Research, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

Imke Gfhring, MD

Rehabilitation Center and HRI of Rehabilitation Research, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

Karen C. Wachter, MD

Rehabilitation Center and HRI of Rehabilitation Research, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

Thierry M. Ettlin, MD

Rehabilitation Center and HRI of Rehabilitation Research, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

The improved pendulum test of Wartenberg provides reliable and reproducible data in spastic patients. The R2 index calculated from the pendulum curve is the most useful single value to quantify spasticity of the legs. During a drug trial with the 1,4- benzodiazepine tetrazepam, the R2 indicates faithfully the changes in spasticity. It is also useful in deciding when a dose increase is needed in individual cases. Compared with the Ashworth Scale, it is independent of the raters' impression and expressed in digital values. Its current limitation is that it can be used only for the lower extremi ties. Its decisive advantage over other methods is that it expresses the degree of spas ticity in a single value. Tetrazepam was applied in increasing doses to nine patients and proved to be an effective antispastic drug with good tolerability and only minor side effects. The changes in the R2 index during a 5-day trial were statistically significant.

Key Words: Spasticity • Antispastic drugs • Tetrazepam • Pendulum test • Relaxation index • Ashworth Scale.

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 12, No. 4, 169-177 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/154596839801200405
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