Motor benefit from levodopa in spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy

Janice E. Brunstrom, Amy J. Bastian, Michael Wong, Jonathan W. Mink

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report on a 16-year-old girl with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy associated with premature birth and typical periventricular leukomalacia, who had a dramatic improvement in motor function after treatment with carbidopa/levodopa. Kinematic and electromyographic analyses of reaching movements demonstrate that levodopa decreased muscle co-contraction, decreased unwanted movements, and improved her ability to maintain a steady arm posture. These findings suggest that levodopa be considered as an adjunct therapy for the treatment of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)662-665
Number of pages4
JournalAnnals of neurology
Volume47
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000

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