[Clinical experience of the repeated multilevel injections of the botulinum toxin type A (abobotulinum toxin A) in the spastic forms of cerebral palsy].

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to analyze the dosages of Abobotulinum toxin A used for each muscle in the clinically effective and safe repeated multilevel injections in CP children, and the intervals between injections. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 229 injection sessions into 359 muscles of the upper and 361 muscles of the lower extremities in 133 children (2-18 years) with spastic CP. Analysis included only patients who were injected for the first time and demonstrated decrease of spasticity in injected muscles according to modified Ashworth and/or Tardieu scales without significant side effects 2-4 weeks after injections. Motor deficit according to GMFCS was: GMFCS I--16(12%) children, GMFCS II--26 (19.6%), GMFCS III--43 (32.3%), GMFCS IV--30 (22.6%), GMFCS V--18 (13.5%). Repeated injections (up to 5 sessions) were done in 59 children. Maximum follow-up perion was 22 months. 40 patients (30.1%) had one-sided injections, 93 (69.9%)--two-sided, 125 (94%)--multilevel injections. RESULTS: We presented minimal and maximal dosages, interquartile ranges for each injected muscle, also "off-label" and our proposition of per-segment calculation of dosages in multilevel injections in CR. We also demonstrated the stability of intervals between repeated injections and dosages per kg in a patient. These results are compared with the official Russian and international recommendations of BTX-A treatment for children. CONCLUSION: We presented our experience of BTX-A dosages calculation for the spastic CP treatment which could be used as a recommendation and guide for the multilevel injections treatment according to the aims of rehabilitation, spasticity level, muscle size and motor deficit of a concrete patient.

[Assessment of motor and sensory pathways of the brain using diffusion-tensor tractography in children with cerebral palsy].

BACKGROUND: Diffusion tensor tractography--a new method of magnetic resonance imaging, that allows to visualize the pathways of the brain and to study their structural-functional state. OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the changes in motor and sensory pathways of brain in children with cerebral palsy using routine magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion-tensor tractography. METHODS: The main group consisted of 26 patients with various forms of cerebral palsy and the comparison group was 25 people with normal psychomotor development (aged 2 to 6 years) and MR-picture of the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on the scanner with the induction of a magnetic field of 1,5 Tesla. Coefficients of fractional anisotropy and average diffusion coefficient estimated in regions of the brain containing the motor and sensory pathways: precentral gyrus, posterior limb of the internal capsule, thalamus, posterior thalamic radiation and corpus callosum. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) values of fractional anisotropy and average diffusion coefficient in patients with cerebral palsy in relation to the comparison group. All investigated regions, the coefficients of fractional anisotropy in children with cerebral palsy were significantly lower, and the average diffusion coefficient, respectively, higher. CONCLUSION: These changes indicate a lower degree of ordering of the white matter tracts associated with damage and subsequent development of gliosis of varying severity in children with cerebral palsy. It is shown that microstructural damage localized in both motor and sensory tracts that plays a leading role in the development of the clinical picture of cerebral palsy.