Cerebral palsy: Treatments and drugs – MayoClinic.com

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Children and adults with cerebral palsy require long-term care with a medical care team. This team may include:

MedicationsMedications that can lessen the tightness of muscles may be used to improve functional abilities, treat pain and manage complications related to spasticity or other cerebral palsy symptoms.

It's important to talk about the risk of drug treatments with your doctor and discuss whether medical treatment is appropriate for your child's needs. The selection of medications depends on whether the problem affects only certain muscles (isolated) or the whole body (generalized). Drug treatments may include the following:

Isolated spasticity. When spasticity is isolated to one muscle group, your doctor may recommend injections of onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) directly into the muscle, nerve or both. Botox injections may help to improve drooling. Your child will need injections about every three months.

Side effects may include pain, bruising or severe weakness. Other more-serious side effects include difficulty breathing and swallowing.

Generalized spasticity. If the whole body is affected, oral muscle relaxants may relax stiff, contracted muscles. These drugs include diazepam (Valium), dantrolene (Dantrium) and baclofen (Gablofen).

There is some risk of dependency with diazepam, so it's not recommended for long-term use. Its side effects include drowsiness, weakness and drooling.

Side effects of dantrolene include sleepiness, nausea and or diarrhea.

Side effects of baclofen include sleepiness, confusion and nausea. Baclofen may also be pumped directly into the spinal cord with a tube. The pump is surgically implanted under the skin of the abdomen.

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Cerebral palsy: Treatments and drugs - MayoClinic.com