Clonidine in the treatment of brainstem spasticity. Case report.

This report describes a patient who developed spasticity after a medullary infarct. No improvement in her spasticity was achieved by baclofen therapy and the side effects of the drug necessitated its gradual withdrawal. Recent reports of the success of clonidine in the management of spasticity due to spinal cord injury prompted an attempt at clonidine therapy. When clonidine therapy was initiated, the patient responded rapidly with both subjective and objective improvements in her spasticity. This case suggests a potential role for clonidine in the treatment of spasticity resulting from brainstem infarction.