Article Review

From the Journal of the Treatment of Individuals with Recto-Cranial Inversion Syndrome (v. 8, n. 13, June 31, 2003)

Article Review

"The Efficacy of the Utilization of an Atypical Muscle Relaxant in the Treatment of Recto-Cranial Inversion Syndrome (R-CIS) in Individuals with a Low Response to Noninvasive Psychological Aversion Therapy"

The efficacy of the atypical muscle relaxant was evaluated in the treatment of Recto-Cranial Inversion Syndrome (R-CIS) in 20 individuals whose diagnosis of R-CIS was at least twelve months old and who had gone through a series of noninvasive psychological aversion treatments for a period of 60 days with no observable change in behavior.

A double-blind, crossover design was used to compare the muscle relaxant with placebo in a 22-week trial with a 6-month follow-up phase. Based on a 50% reduction in mean R-CIS Checklist - Relatives total scores, 50% of the participants were identified as responders. Naturalistic observations of a subset of five individuals showed that for 4 out of 5 participants, the muscle relaxant was effective in reducing R-CIS behavior.

Side effects included weight gain (84% of participants), sedation (40% of participants), nausea (33% of participants), and loss of motor involvement in the cranial area (67% of participants). The advantages of conducting a comprehensive analysis of the effects of medication on R-CIS are discussed.