Treatment of spasticity with botulinum toxin: A double‐blind study

Abstract

We studied the effect of botulinum‐A toxin on spasticity of the leg adductors in 9 patients who were either chair‐bound or bed‐bound with chronic stable multiple sclerosis. We injected botulinum toxin (400 mouse units) or placebo into the adductor muscles in a randomized, crossover, double‐blind design. Two physicians, who were unaware of the treatment order, used an objective rating scale and independently assessed the patients; interobserver correlation was excellent (r = 0.93‐0.81). We found that botulinum toxin produced a significant reduction in spasticity (p = 0.009) and a significant improvement in the ease of nursing care(p = 0.009). There were no adverse effects during this shortterm trial. This is the first demonstration of the beneficial effect of botulinum toxin on focal spastic muscle contractions.