Clinical use of polysynaptic flexion reflexes in the management of spasticity with intrathecal baclofen (original) (raw)
1997, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology
The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of lower limb flexion reflexes (FR) in the assessment of spinal excitability responsible for spontaneous or induced spasms. FR were recorded on the short head of biceps femoris, after electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral sural nerve at the ankle, in 17 spastic patients selected for chronic intrathecal administration of baclofen. The results obtained before and after treatment were compared with clinical scores commonly used to assess spasticity (Ashworth and spasm scores). Before intrathecal baclofen 15/17 patients (88%) had pathologically enhanced flexor reflexes in the lower limbs, which were associated to clinical spasms. Reflex enhancement was accompanied in 47% of cases by abnormal decrease of reflex threshold. No significant correlation appeared between the magnitude or threshold of FR in control conditions and either the hypertonia (Ashworth scale) or the number of clinical spasms per unit of time. Intrathecal...
Sign up for access to the world's latest research.
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.