Spasticity Health Dictionary

Loss of muscle bulk and strength caused by a disorder of the nerve that supplies the muscle. The loss is progressive and characterises chronic NEUROPATHY. Patients with DIABETES MELLITUS and MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE (MND) often suffer from amyotrophy as well as spasticity (see SPASTIC) of muscles.... amyotrophy

A muscle-relaxing drug, indicated for chronic severe spasticity (see SPASTIC) of voluntary muscle such as may occur after a STROKE or in CEREBRAL PALSY and MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS). Unlike most other relaxants, it acts directly on the muscle, thus producing fewer centralnervous-system side-effects. It is contraindicated if liver function is impaired, and is not recommended for children or for acute muscle spasm. It may cause drowsiness, resulting in impaired performance at skilled tasks and driving.... dantrolene

A degenerative condition of the SPINAL CORD which most commonly occurs as a complication of PERNICIOUS ANAEMIA. The motor and sensory nerves in the cord are damaged, causing spasticity of the limbs and an unsteady gait. Treatment is with vitamin B12 (see APPENDIX 5: VITAMINS).... subacute combined degeneration of the cord

Increased tone in one or more muscles, causing them to feel tight; the affected part of the body becomes stiff and inflexible. Causes include muscle injury, arthritis in a nearby joint, a neurological disorder, or stroke. Rigidity of the abdominal muscles is a sign of peritonitis. (See also spasticity.)... rigidity

A powerful muscle-relaxant used for patients with chronic severe spasticity – increased muscle rigidity – resulting from disorders such as CEREBRAL PALSY, MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) or traumatic partial section of the SPINAL CORD. Important adverse effects include SEDATION, HYPOTONIA and DELIRIUM.... baclofen

Linn.

Family: Portulacaceae.

Habitat: All over India, cultivated as a vegetable.

English: Common Purslane.

Ayurvedic: Brihat Lonikaa, Lonaa, Loni, Ghoddhika, Ghotikaa, Upodika, Khursaa.

Unani: Khurfaa, Kulfaa.

Siddha/Tamil: Pulli-keerai, Parup- pukirai.

Action: Refrigerant (reduces body heat), mild spasmodic, diuretic, antiscorbutic. Used in scurvy and in diseases of liver, spleen, kidney and bladder; also in dysuria, stomatitis and dysentery. A paste of leaves is applied to swellings, erysipelas, burns and scalds. Seeds—diuretic, antidysenteric; applied externally to burns and scalds.

A crude protein-free extract of the herb contained l-nor-adrenaline, do- pamine and l-dopa, also catechol. (The fresh plant contained 2.5 mg/g l-nor- adrenaline in one sample.) The extract gave a strong pressor response when injected intravenously into anaesthetized dogs.

The oral administration of the ho- mogenates of P. oleracea reduced the blood sugar level of alloxan-diabetic rabbits to normal.

The extract of the leaves and stems reduced muscle tone in individuals suffering from spasticity and exhibited skeletal muscle relaxant activity both in vitro and in vivo. The extract produced dose-dependent negative in- otropic and chronotropic effects and pressor response on rat blood pressure.

The diuretic action of the herb is attributed to the presence of high percentage of potassium salts.

Dosage: Plant-125-400 mg powder; juice—1-20 ml (CCRAS.)... portulaca oleracea

A condition which may be due to a change in the joints, ligaments, tendons, or muscles, or to the in?uence of the nervous system over the muscles of the part affected. Sti?ness is associated with various forms of arthritis or muscular disorders and with the effects of injuries to joints, tendons and muscles. Sti?ness of the neck muscles resulting in bending the head backwards, and of the hamstring muscles, causing di?culty in straightening the lower limbs, is a sign of MENINGITIS. Sti?ness or spasticity also occurs in certain diseases of the central nervous system.

Treatment is of the underlying disease or injury. Mild sti?ness can be treated symptomatically with local warmth and ANALGESICS. PHYSIOTHERAPY is helpful in relieving sti?ness as a result of muscle or joint injuries.... stiffness

A recently introduced skeletal-muscle relaxant used in patients whose muscle spasticity is associated with MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) or injury to the SPINAL CORD. Its side-effects include drowsiness, tiredness, dizziness, dry mouth, nausea and lowered blood pressure.... tizanidine

Increased rigidity in a muscle, which may be caused by damage to its nerve supply or changes within the muscle.

Hypertonia causes episodes of continuous muscle spasm.

Persistent hypertonia in limb muscles following a stroke or head injury leads to spasticity.... hypertonia

Sudden and involuntary contraction of a muscle. Muscle spasm is a normal reaction to pain and inflammation around a joint. Common causes are muscle strain, disc prolapse, and stress. Usually, the cause of the spasm is treated. Muscle-relaxant drugs may also be needed. (See also spasticity.)... muscle spasm

The natural tension in the muscle fibres. At rest, all muscle fibres are kept in a state of partial contraction by nerve impulses from the spinal cord. Abnormally high muscle tone causes an increased resistance to movement, spasticity, and rigidity. Abnormally low muscle tone causes floppiness (see hypotonia; hypotonia in infants).... tone, muscle

one of a group of rare hereditary disorders (known as the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses) that also includes *Tay-Sachs disease. Fatty substances accumulate in the cells of the nervous system, causing progressive dementia, epilepsy, spasticity, and visual failure. The condition starts in late infancy or childhood. There is no treatment. [F. E. Batten (1865–1918), British neurologist]... batten’s disease

A progressive disease of the central nervous system in which patches of myelin in the brain and spinal cord are destroyed. Multiple sclerosis (or ) is an autoimmune disorder, in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers some nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Affected nerves cannot conduct nerve impulses, so functions such as movement and sensation may be lost. Any area of the body can be affected. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to paralysis and incontinence.

Attacks of symptoms are followed by a variable period of remission, in which dramatic improvements may be made.

Women are more likely to develop than men, and there may be a genetic factor, as the disease sometimes runs in families. There may also be an environmental factor, as is more common in temperate zones than in the tropics.

Symptoms usually develop early in adulthood. Spinal cord damage may cause tingling, numbness, weakness in the extremities, spasticity, paralysis, and incontinence. Damage to white matter (myelinated nerves) in the brain may cause fatigue, vertigo, clumsiness, muscle weakness, slurred speech, blurred vision, numbness, weakness, or facial pain.

Attacks may last several months. After a variable remission period, a relapse occurs, which may be precipitated by injury, infection, or stress. Some people have mild relapses and long periods of remission, with few permanent effects. Some people become gradually more disabled from the first attack. A few suffer gross disability within the 1st year.

There is no single diagnostic test, but MRI may show damage to white matter in the brain. Evoked response tests on the eyes also provide strong evidence.

There is no specific treatment.

Some people claim that dietary modifications such as sunflower or evening primrose oils are beneficial.

In some cases, interferon beta can extend the time between attacks and reduce the rate of decline.... multiple sclerosis

A group of drugs used to relieve muscle spasm and spasticity. Muscle-relaxant drugs are used mainly in the treatment of nervoussystem disorders such as multiple sclerosis and painful muscular conditions such as torticollis. They are occasionally used to relieve muscle rigidity caused by injury. Some types are used to cause temporary paralysis during surgery under general anaesthesia.Except for dantrolene, muscle-relaxant drugs partly block nerve signals that stimulate muscle contraction. Dantrolene interferes with the chemical activity in muscle cells needed for contraction.

The drugs may cause muscle weakness and drowsiness. In rare cases, dantrolene causes liver damage.... muscle-relaxant drugs

n. the shaky movements and unsteady gait that result from the brain’s failure to regulate the body’s posture and the strength and direction of limb movements. In cerebellar ataxia, due to disease of the *cerebellum, there is clumsiness of willed movements. The patient staggers when walking; he or she cannot pronounce words properly and may have *nystagmus. The common causes are alcohol, drugs (e.g. phenytoin), multiple sclerosis, hereditary degenerative conditions, and *paraneoplastic syndromes. Friedreich’s ataxia is an inherited disorder appearing first in adolescence. It has the features of cerebellar ataxia, together with spasticity of the limbs. The unsteady movements of sensory ataxia, caused by disease of the sensory nerves, are exaggerated when the patient closes his eyes (see Romberg’s sign). See also ataxia telangiectasia; tabes dorsalis. —ataxic adj.... ataxia

n. a recreational drug prepared from the Indian hemp plant (Cannabis sativa), also known as pot, marijuana, hashish, and bhang. Smoked or swallowed, it produces euphoria and affects perception and awareness, particularly of time; high doses may cause hallucinations. In the UK cannabis is currently classified as a class B drug under the *Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (as amended). The medical use of cannabis products for those with ‘exceptional clinical need’ was legalized in 2018; this has so far been taken to include people with epilepsy and those suffering particularly severe effects from chemotherapy. A particular extract of cannabis containing its principal psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, had already (2010) been licensed for treating spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis. See Appendix 12 for a list of street names for illicit drugs.... cannabis

see spasticity.... clasp-knife rigidity

a congenital condition of severe learning disabilities associated with an abnormal facial appearance, spasticity, and a characteristic catlike cry in infancy. It results from a chromosomal abnormality in which there is a loss (*deletion) of part of the short arm of chromosome no. 5.... cri-du-chat syndrome

n. a temporary loss of reflex activity in the brainstem or spinal cord following destruction of the cerebral cortex. As time passes this state of suppressed reflex activity is replaced by one of unduly exaggerated reflexes and spasticity of the limbs.... diaschisis

a genetically determined (autosomal *recessive) disease resulting from the deposition of glucocerebrosides (see cerebroside) in the brain and other tissues (especially bone). It results in learning disability, abnormal limb posture and spasticity, and difficulty with swallowing. Carrier detection and *preimplantation genetic diagnosis are possible; enzyme replacement therapy may be used in treatment. [P. C. E. Gaucher (1854–1918), French physician]... gaucher’s disease

a *sex-linked hereditary disease caused by an enzyme deficiency resulting in overproduction of uric acid. Affected boys have learning disabilities and suffer from *spasticity and gouty arthritis. They also have a compulsion for self-mutilation. [M. Lesch (1939–2008) and W. L. Nyhan Jr. (1926– ), US physicians]... lesch–nyhan disease

n. muscle weakness that varies in its extent, its severity, and the degree of spasticity or flaccidity according to the nature of the underlying disease and its distribution in the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, or muscles. See flaccid; spastic paralysis. See also diplegia; hemiplegia; paraplegia; poliomyelitis. —paralytic adj.... paralysis

(Steele–Richardson–Olszewski syndrome) a progressive neurological disorder resulting from degeneration of the motor neurons, basal ganglia, and brainstem. Starting in late middle age, it is characterized by a staring facial expression due to impaired ability to move the eyes up and down, progressing to difficulties in swallowing, speech, balance, and movement and general spasticity. The condition enters the differential diagnosis of *parkinsonism, with which it is often confused in its early stages.... progressive supranuclear palsy

a disability in which one leg becomes permanently crossed over the other as a result of spasticity of its *adductor muscles or deformity of the hips. The condition occurs in children with brain damage and in adults after strokes. A *tenotomy or injections with *botulinum toxin may reduce the degree of disability.... scissor leg

weakness of a limb or limbs associated with increased reflex activity. This results in resistance to passive movement of the limb (see spasticity). It is caused by disease affecting the nerve fibres of the *pyramidal system, which in health not only initiate movement but also inhibit the stretch reflexes to allow the movements to take place. See also cerebral palsy.... spastic paralysis

any of a group of inherited disorders of the cerebellum and corticospinal tracts in the brain. They are characterized by *spasticity of the limbs and cerebellar *ataxia.... spinocerebellar degeneration