They are able to consult with many different specialists at one location, and care is enhanced by the specialists' ability to share information and confer on the spot. The paragraphs that follow in this section provide more information about the treatments available. Among the most common oral medications offered for treatment of spasticity are baclofen, diazepam, dantrolene sodium, and tizanidine. Baclofen restricts the influx of calcium into the neural receptors, and it increases the influx of potassium. The effect is a decrease in the number of messages the nerve cells transmit and an accompanying increase in muscle relaxation.
Diazepam reduces spasticity by depressing the central nervous system.
Dantrolene sodium is unique in that it affects muscle fiber rather than nerve fiber. It reduces the release of calcium that usually occurs after muscle action, thus decreasing nerve cell excitation. The local anesthetics most commonly used at the UPMC Spasticity Evaluation and Treatment Center are lidocaine, etidocaine, and bupivacaine. Injections of botulinum toxin Type A. Botulinim toxin Type A, which is often referred to by the brand name Botox, is a protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, the same bacterium that causes food poisoning. A therapeutic dose of the toxin is thousands of times smaller than the amount that can cause lethal poisoning.