Effects of an individual 12 week community located "start to run" program on physical capacity, walking, fatigue, cognitive function, brain volumes, and structures in persons with multiple sclerosis
Background: Exercise therapy studies in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) primarily focused on motor outcomes in mid disease stage, while cognitive function and neural correlates were only limitedly addressed. Objectives: This pragmatic randomized controlled study investigated the effects of a remotely supervised community located "start to run" program on physical and cognitive function, fatigue, quality of life, brain volume, and connectivity. Method: In all, 42 pwMS were randomized to either experimental (EXP) or waiting list control (WLC) group. The EXP group received individualized training instructions during 12 weeks (3x/week) to be performed in their community aiming to participate in a running event. Measures were physical (VO2max, sit to stand test, Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale 12 (MSWS 12) and cognitive function (Rao's Brief Repeatable Battery (BRB) Paced Auditory Serial Attention Test (PASAT) fatigue (Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Function (FSMC) quality of life (Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale 29 (MSIS 29) and imaging. Brain volumes and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were quantified using FSL SIENA/FIRST and FSL TBSS. Results: In all, 35 pwMS completed the trial. Interaction effects in favor of the EXP group were found for VO2max, sit to stand test, MSWS 12, Spatial Recall Test, FSMC, MSIS 29, and pallidum volume. VO2max improved by 1.5 mL/kg/min, MSWS 12 by 4, FSMC by 11, and MSIS 29 by 14 points. The Spatial Recall Test improved by more than 10% Conclusion: Community located run training improved aerobic capacity, functional mobility, visuospatial memory, fatigue, and quality of life and pallidum volume in pwMS.
Multiple sclerosis