Abstract
Bowery [1, 2] established that the main site of action of baclofen (β(p-chlorophenyl)γ-aminobutyric acid) is medullary at the presynaptic level. Baclofen is a specific agonist of GABAB receptors. Autoradiographic studies of Price and coll. [10] showed that GABAB receptors are very abundant in the superficial layers (I-IV) of the posterior columns of the spine. Although baclofen is the most frequently used antispastic drug in the treatment of spasticity, particularly of spinal origin, effective treatment requires high dosage usually in the range of 40–80 mg per day orally. Side effects correlate with the dosage necessary to obtain a therapeutic effect. Metabolic and pharmacological studies [4] performed with the help of baclofen containing radioactive C 14 showed a very low concentration in the central nervous system. Due to the poor permeability of baclofen through the brain barrier, intrathecal administration appeared to be logical.
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© 1988 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Lazorthes, Y. (1988). Chronic Intrathecal Administration of Baclofen in Treatment of Severe Spasticity. In: Müller, H., Zierski, J., Penn, R.D. (eds) Local-spinal Therapy of Spasticity. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72954-6_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72954-6_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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