Taipei City Hospital

Neuromyotonia is mainly caused by central neuropathy, especially spinal cord injury and brain injury (cerebral trauma and stroke). The traditional treatment methods for neuromyotonia comprise drug therapy and physical therapy; the drugs used are usually muscle relaxants and physical therapies normally involve passive joint movement, stretching exercise and hot compresses. However, for a small number of patients, although they have already taken the maximum dosage of drugs, they still show severe neuromyotonia accompanied by pain, complications and difficulties in daily living care. ITB Therapy (Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy) should then be considered. Jen-Ho Tseng, attending doctor of the Neurosurgery Department in Taipei City Hospital Ren’ai Branch, explains that the concept of ITB (intrathecal baclofen) is to apply the drugs directly on the nerve surface; this will prevent drug loss from intestinal absorption and blood circulation, allowing the smallest effective dose to act on the target nerves. The dosage can also be effectively adjusted according to the condition of illness. ITB therapy has the advantages of simple procedure, low risk and significant effect, which is good news to patients with severe neuromyotonia, and will improve their living quality.