A team of experts encouraged ongoing research into the benefits of exercise training for people with multiple sclerosis, citing the shortcomings of the available studies. They described their prospects for this avenue of research in “Exercise in multiple sclerosis,” published in the Lancet on April 20, 2022. (doi: 10.1016 / S1474-4422 (22) 00045-X.)
The authors are Brian Sandroff, PhD, Kessler Foundation, Robert W. Motl, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago, V. Wee Yong, PhD, University of Calgary in Canada, Gary R Cutter, PhD, a the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Gavin Giovannoni, MD, of Queen Mary University in London, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in the UK.
Team members countered the findings of recent reviews, which stated that exercise training is not associated with neuroprotection in people with multiple sclerosis. Evidence suggests that exercise can prevent or reverse existing and measurable neurological damage or decrease it, team members said. They also suggest that the available studies are few and poorly designed and should not discourage ongoing research in this promising field.
Deficiencies cited by the team include patient selection (lack of measurable, preexisting damage to the central nervous system), design of exercise regimens (too short durations of training / follow-up protocols), lack of neurophysiological hypotheses a a priori (not taking into account. brain adaptations and regions of interest for neuroprotection) and selection of neuroimaging techniques (excessive dependence on neuroimaging of the whole brain / structural).
The shortcomings of the existing research prevent us from reaching conclusive conclusions at this time. Only through rigorous study can we explore the promise of neuroprotection for people living with multiple sclerosis. “
Dr. Sandroff, lead author, principal investigator, Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience, Kessler Foundation
“The advancement of this line of research depends on well-designed, randomized, controlled trials based on our knowledge of exercise-induced focal neuroprotection, with targeted selection criteria, adequate training and follow-up durations, and techniques. adequate neuroimaging, “he concluded. “This will include the future evidence base for evaluating the role of exercise training in the management of multiple sclerosis. As an approach that offers low cost, easy access and few side effects, the potential benefits of “Exercise for People with Multiple Sclerosis Guarantee a Comprehensive Analysis. Research”
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Magazine reference:
Sandroff, BM, et al. (2022) Exercise in multiple sclerosis. The Lancet. doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(22)00045-X.