From these symptoms it will be seen that the effects of the drug correspond to many spinal symptoms, but more especially to what is known as spastic paraplegia.
Excessive rigidity of the legs; flexion difficult; spastic gait, the legs becoming interlocked, and walking is difficult or impossible.
O'Connor finds that marked benefit follows its use in old cases of myelitis with marked spastic symptoms.
We are not attracted by Kocher's idea of assigning it to an "idiopathic spastic neurosis," preferring to ally it to tics of the tonic variety.
To a similar affection characterised by total inability to speak in a high or a low voice, whispering only being practicable, the term "spastic aphonia" has been applied.
They presented the spastic gait of the former with the involuntary movements of the latter, in addition to spasm of the hand in writing, spasmodic movements of the trunk, and spasmodic torticollis.
As example he refers to the case of a child in whom an ictus at the age of three years was followed by a typical spastic hemiplegia on the left side, with athetoido-choreic movements chiefly in the arm.
Now, whatever a facial convulsion of apoplectic origin, secondary to facial palsy and accompanied with spastic hemiplegia and athetosis, may be, it is at all events no tic.
There is sometimes unilateral or even bilateralspastic paralysis of the limbs from pressure on the medulla oblongata.
Later, there is paralysis of the spastic type, varying in extent and sometimes amounting to complete paraplegia, and this may come on gradually or quite suddenly.
Contracture Deformities of Upper and Lower Limbs resulting from Spastic Cerebral Palsy in infancy.
In spastic paralysis of cerebral origin, the tendency is towards contracture, usually in the attitude of flexion, with adduction and inversion.
The prognosis is generally favourable, but must be guarded, as permanent organic changes in the cord may take place, causing a spastic condition of the muscles.
The paralysis in the parts below the lesion assumes the spastic form.
The term Gampsodactyly has been applied to a deformity in which all the toes assume the position of hammer-toe, usually from a spastic condition of the muscles controlling the toes.
When the quadriceps is overcome by a contraction of the hamstrings, as in spastic paraplegia, the knee is fixed in the flexed position and the child is unable to walk.
This deformity, in which the foot is in the position of plantar-flexion with the heel drawn up and the toes pointed, is nearly always acquired as a result either of poliomyelitis or of spastic paralysis.
The spastic form of talipes equino-varus is comparatively rare.
Even in cases in which the loss of function below the level of the lesion has been complete, recovery may take place, but it is apt to be marred by a spastic condition of the muscles concerned, due to sclerotic changes in the cord.
The condition is frequently bilateral, and is often associated with other deformities of the lower limb and with a characteristic spastic gait.
There is more doubt in regard to the associations of this symptom than as to the knee movement, but it has been clinically shown to be exaggerated in spastic spinal paralysis.
In spastic spinal paralysis (lateral spinal sclerosis) it is exaggerated.
Does it not happen that a patient dies of convulsions, spastic in the sense of their being tumultuous and alternating, and chronic in the sense of exhibiting continuous rigidity, yet after death no disease is found?
An intermediate type is sometimes seen, in which the peroneal spasm is so great that the foot is held abducted and everted as long as the spasm lasts (spastic flat foot.
Other paralytic causes are: spasticor cerebral paralysis, hereditary ataxia, etc.
The movement appears to be a result of a nervous or sexually excited state and consists of highly spastic contractions confined to the anterior part of the snake most of the time but affecting the entire body on some occasions.
From the irritation they produce, spastic stenosis may occur, thus constituting a vicious circle; the spasm of the esophagus increases the stagnation which in turn results in further inflammation and ultimate ulceration.
A very large dilatation of the thoracic esophagus indicates spastic stenosis.
If the pouch is small, the subdiverticular esophageal orifice may be dilated with esophagoscopic bougies, thus overcoming the etiologic factor of spastic or organic stenosis.
While the esophagus is usually dilated, the stomach on the other hand is often contracted, largely from lack of distention by food, but possibly also because of a spastic state due to the same causes as the phrenospasm.
Spastic phenomena may sometimes be associated Paralysis not subject to ups (particularly in the face) and downs (motor defect fixed).
Upon passive movement, there was a sort of spastic state, which did not amount to a true rigidity.
He was shortly able to stand without swaying, although for some time the walk was upon a rather wide base and somewhat slow and suggestive of spastic paresis.
Neurologically, there was a partial spastic paralysis of the right thigh which could be abducted, could be flexed to 120°, and showed some power in the quadriceps.
Ten months after the traumatism, the hemiplegia and spastic walk remained.
The spastic paralysis did not seem organic as the leg was dragged behind.
The tendon reflexes of the arms appeared increased; there was a suspicion of patellar clonus and of foot clonus, and it had been proposed to invalid the man for spastic paralysis.
Upon attempts to create passive movements of the lower limbs, severe shaking and trembling movements set in, followed by a general spastic tension of the leg musculature such that it could not be further flexed or extended.
This hemiplegia was a spastic one, of a classical nature, with Babinski sign and exaggeration of tendon reflexes.
Later, he ceased complaining of sciatica and developed spastic torticollis.
After anesthesia had set in, it was found possible still to produce the spastic state by extending the legs; but a half hour after injection the spastic state could no longer be produced.
He could walk only with two canes, and during walking the musculature of the thigh fell into a spastic tension.
A month later, in hospital, hardness and tenderness to pressure of abdominal wall, spastic muscles everywhere, pseudospastic tremor of legs, and complaints of double vision were noted.
On passive motion, there was slight spastic tension in the musculature of the right leg, and the patient said he felt marked pain.
This pain was followed by spastic contracture, first of the ulnar fingers and later of the wrist and elbow, which could only be straightened by the application of considerable force.
In several cases of spastic paralysis he succeeded in picking out in the nerve-trunk of the affected limb the nerve bundles supplying the spastic muscles, and, by resecting portions of them, in relieving the spasm.
In a case of spastic contracture of the pronator muscles of the forearm, for example, an incision is made along the line of the median nerve above the bend of the elbow.
He began to make futile attempts at walking when five or six years of age, when the spastic rigidity was first noticed.
Except in the most spastic states, a certain degree of relaxation is possible by effort, though not without practice, and this has to be constantly inculcated and encouraged.
Hence, the hesitation in speech arises and as the repressed thoughts gradually are forced into the unconscious, there finally develops the defective speech automatism, either stammering or a spastic aphonia.
In spastic speech, there is present a noticeable hyper-tonicity of the nerve fibers actuating the muscles used in speaking as well as marked contractions of the facial muscles.
This spastic nature was further exacerbated by the egregious behaviour of the superpowers.
Under the spastic orgy of legalized robbery of state assets that passed for privatisation, millions were made redundant while thousands enriched themselves by choreographed looting.
