AIM To determine whether botulinum toxin A (BTXa) is an effective and safe treatment for lower limb spasticity and improve walking ability after stroke or traumatic brain injury. METHODS 27 cases with stroke or traumatic brain injury affecting the muscles of lower extremity were selected to receive local intramuscular injection. The injected dose is between 50～100 U?(muscle) -1. All patients received rehabilitation therapy that focused on walking training. Patients were assessed at entry, and 2, 4 weeks post-treatment. The muscle tone was assessed by the modified Ashworth Scale, the changes of time-distance parameters was measured by footprint gait analysis. The correlation relationship between muscles tone and gait parameters was analysed. RESULTS Compared to pretreatment values, the total muscles spasticity, walking distance, and speed were significantly improved in all groups respectively, decrease in the modified Ashworth Score (P

A 16-year-old male presented with a 11-year history of progressively enlarging erythema and crusting on the right cheek.Physical examination revealed an irregularly shaped,sharply marginated,dark erythematous patch sized 6 cm x 10 cm and plaques with mild verrucous proliferation.There were strip-like scar at the margin of lesions and multiple ulcers measuring 0.5 to 1 cm in diameter with firm crusts.No small jellycolored nodules were observed.Direct microscopy of multiple scrapings under the crusts showed many light brown,septate,branching and irregular hyphae.Olivaceous-black woolly colonies grew at 25 C and 35 C on Sabouraud's dextrose agar and potato dextrose agar; flask-shaped conidiogenous cells with funnel-shaped collarettes and ellipsoidal conidia arranged in flower-like shape were observed microscopically.PAS staining showed numerous septate and branching hyphae,pseudohyphae and yeast-like cells.There was a 99.73％ similarity in the species-specific rDNA sequence between the isolate and phialophora verrucosa standard strain CDC-B2152.The patient was diagnosed with cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis caused by Phialophora verrucosa.The lesion subsided after treatment with amphotericin B and itraconazole,but recurred after drug withdrawal.Itraconazole and terbinafine were administered for the retreatment of this patient.