NEW YORK, Mar 08 (Reuters Health) - A new drug delivery technique reduces spasticity in adults and adolescents with cerebral palsy, allowing them to move more freely and in some cases to function more independently, Alabama researchers report.

Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormalities in brain development or brain injury at birth. Up to 60% of people with cerebral palsy suffer from spastic hypertonia, in which the muscles contract abnormally in spasms. This can result in permanently contracted muscles and paralysis. These patients may also have difficulty speaking.

Oral drugs, including baclofen, are used to treat spastic hypertonia, but these drugs have side effects and do not help all patients. Delivering baclofen continuously to the spinal canal via a surgically implanted pump has been shown to reduce spasticity in children with cerebral palsy.

Dr. Jay M. Meythaler of University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham and his colleagues tested the pump in 13 patients, aged 13 to 43, who had spastic hypertonia that had not been helped by oral medications. The study, published in the February issue of Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, is the first to evaluate this technique in adults with cerebral palsy.

At the end of one year, all of the patients showed improvement in spastic hypertonia. One 37-year-old man had required a home aide to help him feed and care for himself, and move to and from his wheelchair. After treatment he no longer needed an aide to help him with activities of daily living and he took a full-time job, the report indicates.

Another patient who had needed a computer device to help him communicate 90% of the time cut down his reliance on the device to 20%, and was able to move from working part-time to working full-time.

"Many patients must learn to adapt to mobility, transfer, and self-care techniques after a reduction of their spasticity," Meythaler and colleagues write. Most patients needed inpatient rehabilitation to help them adjust.

Given orally, baclofen can produce side effects such as drowsiness and confusion. Giving the drug by pump to the spinal area largely kept it out of the brain, so these side effects were avoided, the authors note.

Related MEDLINEplus Pages:

• Cerebral Palsy