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Franklin Delano Roosevelt: The Diagnosis Of Poliomyelitis Revisited., John F. Ditunno, Jr, Bruce E. Becker, Gerald J. Herbison

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Faculty Papers

Revisiting the ailments of famous historical persons in light of contemporary medical understanding has become a common academic hobby. Public discussion of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's (FDR) diagnosis of poliomyelitis after his sudden onset of paralysis in 1921 has received just such a revisitation. Recently, this 2003 historical analysis has been referenced widely on the Internet and in biographies, raising speculation that his actual diagnosis should have been Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a noncontagious disease of the peripheral nervous system rather than poliomyelitis. The authors of that 2003 analysis used a statistical analysis of his case by selectively choosing some of his reported …

Two Phase 3, Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials Of Fampridine-Sr For Treatment Of Spasticity In Chronic Spinal Cord Injury., D. D. Cardenas, J. F. Ditunno, V. Graziani, A. B. Mclain, D. P. Lammertse, P. J. Potter, M. S. Alexander, R. Cohen, A. R. Blight

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Faculty Papers

STUDY DESIGN: Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fampridine sustained-release tablets (fampridine-SR) 25 mg twice daily for moderate-to-severe spasticity in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

SETTING: United States and Canada.

METHODS: Patients with incomplete chronic SCI were randomized to twice daily fampridine-SR 25 mg or placebo, with a 2-week single-blind placebo run-in, a 2-week titration, 12 weeks of stable dosing, 2 weeks of downward titration and 2 weeks of untreated follow-up. Co-primary end points were the change from baseline, averaged over the double-blind treatment period, for Ashworth score (bilateral knee flexors …