[Action of trazodone on pyramidal hypertension. Clinical study]

18 patients with severe stabilized pyramidal hypertonia were treated with Trazodone for a minimum period of 60 days with a daily oral dose of 200-300 mg. The reduction of hypertonia was assessed using the Ashworth Scale to evaluate symptoms and signs. On the whole 12 patients showed a clinical improvement; eight of them showed an improvement of at least 2 items on the Ashworth Scale. The reduction of hypertonia began on the 4-5th day of therapy, progressing until the 10-12th day of treatment and then remained constant. Tolerance was very good. Despite the low number of patients in the study the authors obtained good results suggesting that Trazodone should be studied further in this field.