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Previous Volume 348:258-259 January 16, 2003 Number 3 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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To the Editor: The design of the study by Brashear et al. of botulinum toxin for stroke (Aug. 8 issue)¹ fails to meet the claim of a "double-blind, placebo-controlled trial." The investigators were open partners with the manufacturer in conducting a study in which the outcome measures were patients' reports of qualitative improvement after a dramatic injection that produces weakness. Whether the injection is paralytic or placebo, patients are likely to be biased toward reports of better performance and physicians toward observations of decreased reaction to flexor-muscle stretch. Thus, the 27 percent response to placebo is no surprise. Observation of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Cramer, S. C. (2004). Editorial Comment--Spasticity After Stroke: What's the Catch?. Stroke 35: 139-140 [Full Text]