Treatment of cerebral palsy with botulinum toxin: evaluation with gross motor function measure

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of botulinum toxin A (BTA) injection in reducing muscular spasticity and improving locomotor function in children with cerebral palsy. Thirty-eight children with spastic cerebral palsy who were undergoing regular physical therapy were enrolled. Twenty-eight of these received BTA injection at the hip adductors and/or gastrocnemius, while the other 10, whose parents refused the BTA treatment protocol, served as the comparison group. The main outcome measures were: improvements in the severity of spasticity, walking distance, gross motor function (as assessed with the Gross Motor Function Measure, GMFM), and gait pattern (as assessed with the Physician Rating Scale, PRS), all measured 6 and 12 weeks after the start of BTA treatment. The severity of spasticity and walking distance at baseline did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, the severity of spasticity improved markedly in the BTA group, from 2.7 to 1.5 (Modified Ashworth Scale) at the hip adductor, and from 2.9 to 1.9 at the gastrocnemius at the 6-week follow-up. The walking distance improved from 46.17 m to 55.32 m at the 6-week follow-up, and to 66.6 m at the 12-week follow-up in the BTA group. Marked improvements in the quality of several gross motor functions were also noted in the BTA group. The improvements in spasticity, walking distance, and gross motor function were significantly greater in the BTA group than in the comparison group. The improvements in gait pattern did not differ significantly between the BTA and comparison groups. The findings of this study show BTA injection to be an effective treatment for reducing spasticity and improving gross motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy. GMFM provides objective evidence regarding functional improvement after treatment in this patient population.