Background: One of the major complications of cerebrovascular stroke is spasticity, which may adversely affect life in a variety of ways as muscle spasms, muscle jerks, pain, tightness, loss of muscle control and altered body image. Objectives: To evaluate the role of botulinum toxin type A in the management of spastic stroke patients. Materials and Methods: Twenty five Egyptian patients were submitted to Botulinum toxin type A injection, in addition to physiotherapy sessions. All patients were subjected to full medical history, thorough neurological examination, and CT Brain. Assessment of power by “The Medical Research Council”, evaluation of patient satisfaction through the “Quality of life Index”, and spasticity assessment by the widely accepted and reliable Modified Ashworth Scale together with H-reflex were done pre- and post- botulinum toxin type A injection. Results: A statistically significant improvement in the spasticity scale was depicted post injection, together with a statistically significant decrease in H reflex amplitude. Conclusion: botulinum toxin type A injection can be considered as a reliable and safe method for managing spasticity that helps to decrease its burden in cerebrovascular stroke patients.
(Egypt J. Neurol. Psychiat. Neurosurg., 2004, 41 (3) suppl.: 903-911).