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The Effects of Medications That Reduce Spasticity in the Management of Spastic Cerebral PalsyDivision of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Schneider Children's Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY 11042 The relationship between two types of motor deficits, namely motor delay in postural control and spastic positioning of the lower limbs, and the efficacy of prolonged administration of dantrolene sodium was investigated inagroup (n =18) of spastic cerebral palsy (CP; diplegic) children with a history of premature birth. The age range (28 months—13 years ) allowed prediction of the eventual development of the posture-locomotion system. The dose of dantrolene sodium was titrated to the dose which caused a measurable decrease in dynamic hamstring spasticity. Assessment of postural control prior to and following 6-24 months of continual dantrolene therapy revealed that a "younger" group (N = 10; 28-48 months of age) of CP children achieved a postural control rating higher than the predicted scores whereas an "older" group (n = 8; 5-13 years of age) did not demonstrate higher scores despite realizing a greater ease of mobility. It was concluded that dantrolene therapy was effective in reducing spasticity among the CP children of all ages, and in enhancing postural-locomotor activity in younger children beyond predicted pretreatment values. The long-term safety of Dantrium® in children under five years of age has not been established.
Key Words: Key words: cerebral palsy • spasticity • motor delay • dantrolene sodium • and prediction of outcome.
Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 5, No. 5 suppl,
S13-S14 (1991) |
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