This article talks about medicine to treat paediatric complex motor disorders.
Medicine | How does the medicine work? |
Antispasmodics
e.g. baclofen | Helps muscles to relax. This will help your child to move, and make it easier and less painful to move them. It may also help to reduce muscle pain. |
Anticholinergics
e.g. Benzhexol | In children with dystonia, the muscles have contracted too much and are too tight so that the head, arms or legs are held in awkward or uncomfortable positions. Benzhexol blocks the effects of a chemical messenger called acetylcholine that is released from the nerves to make the muscle contract. It helps the muscles to relax. This should allow a better range of movement in the affected part of the body and reduce painful spasms. |
Benzodiazepines,
e.g. diazepam, nitrazepam, clonazepam | Helps to reduce symptoms of spasticity, and other movement disorders such as dystonia, and myoclonus. It modifies the chemical transmission in the brain. It helps your child’s muscles to relax. This should also help to reduce muscle pain. |
Chloral Hydrate | Helps to reduce symptoms of dystonia by modifying the chemical transmission in the brain. It is also used in children with sleep-onset disorder (difficulty getting to sleep), muscle spasm/ dystonia and agitation. |
Clonidine | Helps to reduce symptoms of dystonia by modifying the chemical transmission in the brain. It is also used in children with Tourette’s syndrome, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep-onset disorder (difficulty getting to sleep). |
Gabapentin | Helps to reduce symptoms of dystonia by modifying the chemical transmission in the brain. It also helps to reduce muscle pain and neuropathic pain (nerve pain). |
Levodopa
e.g. Madopar | Levodopa is absorbed by the brain cells and turned into the chemical dopamine, which is used to transmit messages between the parts of the brain and nerves that control movement. Increasing the levels of dopamine helps to improve movement problems. |
Medicine | Attend hospital straight away if your child has any of these side effects: |
If your child has problems with these less serious side effects, talk with your doctor/ pharmacist: |
Antispasmodics
e.g. baclofen |
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Anticholinergics
e.g. benzhexol |
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Benzodiazepaines,
e.g. diazepam, nitrazepam, clonazepam |
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Chloral Hydrate |
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Clonidine |
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Gabapentin |
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Levodopa
e.g. Madopar |
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This article was last reviewed on Wednesday, November 22, 2023