Spasticity News and Research

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Spasticity is a condition involving an involuntary increase in muscle tone that leads to resistance against normal movements of the body and may cause pain in some individuals.

Tizanidine looked promising early in a migraine trial, but the benefit did not last

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that low-dose tizanidine did not provide sustained reductions in headache burden over 12 weeks in people with episodic migraine, despite a transient improvement with the 1 mg dose at week 4. Exploratory analyses suggested that smoking and sex may influence tizanidine exposure, while sex-specific efficacy signals remained hypothesis-generating and require confirmation.

10 Sep 2026

FDA clears first self-balancing personal exoskeleton for wheelchair users

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Eve™, the first self-balancing personal exoskeleton for eligible wheelchair users living with spinal cord injury.

11 Aug 2026

Novel interventional approach successfully treats rare hepatic myelopathy

Hepatic myelopathy (HM) is a rare neurological complication of decompensated chronic liver disease that profoundly impairs quality of life.

28 Jul 2026

Scientists use inactive virus to safe-deliver spasticity-reversing spinal genes

Muscle spasticity is a common and often debilitating consequence of spinal cord injury that can significantly affect mobility and quality of life. Spasticity is a condition in which muscles become abnormally stiff or tight because of disrupted nerve signaling, often causing exaggerated reflexes, involuntary muscle spasms and difficulty with movement.

9 Jun 2026

Electrical neck implants immediately restore arm mobility in stroke survivors

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers report the final outcomes of a pioneering pilot clinical trial using electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to improve arm and hand mobility in people with chronic stroke today in Nature Medicine.

4 Jun 2026

Largest review finds no mental health benefits of medicinal cannabis

A landmark Lancet Psychiatry paper published today – the largest-ever review of the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids across a range of mental health conditions – found no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

16 Mar 2026

Hip exoskeleton reduces walking effort in stroke survivors

A leading cause of disability in the United States is hemiparesis, a condition where impaired motor control, muscle weakness, and spasticity affect one side of the body.

24 Feb 2026

Targeted therapy for the less impaired arm improves movement for stroke survivors

Traditional stroke rehabilitation therapy focuses on restoring strength and movement to the more impaired side of the body, but a new randomized clinical trial has revealed that targeted therapy for the less impaired arm significantly improved movement and control for stroke survivors.

2 Feb 2026

Boston Children's Hospital secures $8.1M for spastic paraplegia research

Boston Children's Hospital has received $8.1M in NIH funding to support and expand the Spastic Paraplegia Centers of Excellence Research Network (SP-CERN). Darius Ebrahimi-Fakhari, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Movement Disorders Program at Boston Children's, and his team will lead this multi-center effort.

24 Oct 2025

Epidural stimulation and physical rehabilitation can enhance recovery in spinal cord injury patients

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes paralysis in roughly one million people worldwide, with incident cases rising yearly.

21 Oct 2025

FAST walk shows promise in improving gait for chronic stroke patients

Stroke remains one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide, affecting millions each year.

19 Aug 2025

Experimental treatment reverses paralysis in child with rare mitochondrial disease

The value of a recent biochemical discovery can be seen in the case of an 8-year-old boy. In August 2023 he was able to play typical sports, but by November he needed a wheelchair because of a rare disease that caused worsening paralysis.

9 Jul 2025

Surgery and speech therapy improve chronic post-stroke aphasia

Combining neck surgery with intensive speech therapy is associated with greater improvements in a person's ability to communicate after a stroke than intensive speech therapy alone, finds a clinical trial published by The BMJ today.

26 Jun 2025

Exploring the use of genomic classifier tests in prostate cancer risk stratification

A systematic review found that while genomic classifier (GC) tests may influence risk classifications or treatment decisions for patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa), there is a need for better data on their cost-effectiveness, clinical utility, and their impact on racial and ethnic groups, particularly Black men.

20 Jan 2025