Medicines to Treat Paediatric Complex Motor Disorders

Drug Class:	Commonly Known As:	Category:
Central Nervous System Agent

Medicines to Treat Paediatric Complex Motor Disorders - What is it for

Medicine	How does the medicine work?
Antispasmodics e.g. Baclofen	Helps muscles to relax. This will help your child to move, and make it easier and less painful to move them. It may also help to reduce muscle pain.
Anticholinergics e.g. Benzhexol	In children with dystonia, the muscles have contracted too much and are too tight. The head, arms or legs are held in awkward or uncomfortable positions. Benzhexol blocks the effects of a chemical messenger called acetylcholine that is released from the nerves to make the muscle contract. It helps the muscles to relax. This should allow a better range of movement in the affected part of the body and reduce painful spasms.
Benzodiazepines e.g. diazepam, nitrazepam, clonazepam	Helps to reduce symptoms of spasticity, and other movement disorders such as dystonia, and myoclonus. It modifies the chemical transmission in the brain. It helps your child’s muscles to relax. This should also help to reduce muscle pain.
Chloral Hydrate	Helps to reduce symptoms of dystonia by modifying the chemical transmission in the brain. It is also used in children with sleep-onset disorder (difficulty getting to sleep), muscle spasm/dystonia and agitation.
Clonidine	Helps to reduce symptoms of dystonia by modifying the chemical transmission in the brain. It is also used in children with Tourette’s syndrome, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep-onset disorder (difficulty getting to sleep).
Gabapentin	Helps to reduce symptoms of dystonia by modifying the chemical transmission in the brain. It also helps to reduce muscle pain and neuropathic pain (nerve pain).
Levodopa e.g. Madopar	Levodopa is absorbed by the brain cells and turned into the chemical dopamine, which is used to transmit messages between the parts of the brain and nerves that control movement. Increasing the levels of dopamine helps to improve movement problems.