Longitudinal, Multi-cycle Evaluation of Passive Function Improvement in People With Arm Spasticity Treated With Botulinum Toxin A
Date
Authors
Ashford, Stephen A
Buchwald, Khan
Fheodoroff, Klemens
Jacinto, Jorge
Narayanan, Ajit
Siegert, Richard J
Hannes, Christian
Turner-Stokes, Lynne
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Journal Article
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MDPI AG
Abstract
Improvement in passive function (i.e., ease of caring for a limb) is a common goal for treatment of spasticity in the arm with botulinum toxin. A large international, observational, 2-year longitudinal study (ULIS-III, N = 953) was conducted in real-life practice. This original secondary analysis examines whether improvement in passive function goals were met over repeated injection cycles. We report changes by cycle measured by the Passive Function sub-scale of the Arm Activity measure (ArmA-PF) and examine predictors of improvement and injection occurrence. Inclusion in this analysis was based on passive function being selected as a primary or secondary goal for one or more cycle of treatment (n = 542/953). Goals were assessed at the start and end of each cycle using the Goal Attainment Test score and the ArmA-PF. Over all cycles of treatment, goals were set for 1641/2187 injections (75.0%) and achieved in 1250 (76.2%). Significant improvements in ArmA-PF score were identified for at least six cycles (p < 0.001) with evidence of cumulative benefit over successive cycles. This occurred regardless of patient-related baseline characteristics, with the possible exception of some relationship with injection localization techniques. In conclusion, repeated botulinum toxin injections provide significant improvement in passive function, which was sustained over repeated cycles of treatment.Description
Keywords
3214 Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Clinical Research, 6.1 Pharmaceuticals, 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 1115 Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 3214 Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, passive function, botulinum toxin, arm spasticity, goal attainment scaling, rehabilitation, upper limb spasticity, real-world evidence
Source
Toxins, ISSN: 2072-6651 (Print); 2072-6651 (Online), MDPI AG, 18(1), 51-51. doi: 10.3390/toxins18010051
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© 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.