Baclofen

What is Baclofen? Baclofen is a kind of drug which is used to prevent spastic movement. It is especially commonly used in situations where someone is suffering spasms as a result of conditions such as multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spastic diplegia or spinal cord injury.

How does Baclofen work? A Baclofen pump is often used to deliver Baclofen medication through an intrathecal injection. Intrathecal injections are direct injections of a drug into the spinal cord, used in cases where the blood brain barrier needs to be broken but the medicine will not be able to cross that barrier on its own. Baclofen pumps are a common method of providing Baclofen to the body when a patient needs to be able to get along with his or her life and take Baclofen over the long term. In such cases a Baclofen pump implant may be the answer, although there is always the risk of a Baclofen pump malfunction (lioresal Baclofen malfunction) which makes it necessary to take an immediate trip to the hospital. Baclofen addiction is also a concern for some people.

Baclofen side effects are generally not considered as much of an issue as the "side effects of Baclofen" that can occur with either an overdose or an underdose, and the possible complications of a Baclofen pump. When someone is given an underdose of the drug Baclofen, some of the possible side effects which can occur are itching, fever, an altered mental state including hallucinations or delusions, paresthesias and hypotension. When an overdose of Baclofen is taken, the side effects can be weakness, vomiting, drowsiness, slow breathing, an enlarged pupil size, seizures and a coma. A baclofen pump is controlled by an internal computer, and is only used in specific cases where Baclofen cannot be applied to the body orally and have enough of an effect on the symptoms that are being experienced.

Originally Baclofen was developed in the nineteen twenties as a drug from epilepsy, and it is chemically related to GABA. Baclofen is a kind of deriative of gamma-aminobutyric acid, and in mammals it acts as an agonist. Baclofen is active in the spinal cord and helps to repair the feedback loop for nerves that run from the periphery of the body to the spinal cord. While it is most commonly used in the treatment of severe neurological problems, Baclofen can also be used to treat severe cases of hiccups!