Oral Antispasticity Drugs and Non-Progressive Neurological Diseases: A Meta-Analysis on Safety and Efficacy

Spasticity is a pathophysiological outcome of impaired muscle motor activity, primarily the muscle tone. Muscle tone problems are signs of several neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, spine damage, stroke, and traumatic brain injury. Antispasticity therapeutics belong to a class of treatments that restore motor function and muscle tone. There are several routes of therapeutic administration of antispastic medications; among them, the oral drug delivery system plays a significant role.

The purpose of the study was to present a complete synthesis of the scientific evidence on the safety and efficacy of antispasticity medicines used orally for the management of nonprogressive neurological disorders.

In order to carry out a comprehensive meta-analysis, the most pertinent scientific studies on the use of oral antispasticity medications to treat non-progressive neurological illnesses were identified. A search was conducted across a number of databases, including SciELO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and PubMed. MedCalc statistical software was used to perform a meta-analysis in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards for odds ratio across the studies, relative risk, and risk factor analysis.

In the present study, a total of 252 original records were retrieved from different predefined databases on oral antispasticity drugs and their association with non-progressive neurological disorders. After several screening steps, 12 studies were found to be eligible for meta-analysis. These studies represented different antispasticity therapeutics that were administered via the oral route. Based on the meta-analysis, oral antispasticity drugs were found to be moderately effective (P < 0.001).

The findings of the meta-analysis showed that the interventions of tizanidine, diazepam, dantrolene, baclofen, and gabapentin were more effective in tackling spasticity than the control. Therefore, in the treatment of non-progressive neurological diseases, oral antispasticity medications are only modestly effective.