Cognitive rehabilitation and exercise for people with progressive MS

Project Summary:

With significantly more knowledge around disease modifying treatment in relapsing MS compared to progressive MS, clinicians rely, or ‘borrow’ conclusions from current studies and apply them in progressive MS, raising questions about effectiveness.  This project aims to undertake rehabilitation studies in people with progressive MS and address some of the questions about what might represent the most effective approach to symptom management. To date, there are preliminary findings suggesting that certain interventions, such as cognitive rehabilitation and exercise, that may lead to improvements in cognitive functioning, where impairment is present in up to 70% of people with secondary progressive MS.  There is also evidence highlighting the beneficial effects of exercise on physical functioning in people with progressive MS, and treatment efficacy needs to be explored further in order to replicate the positive results. To achieve the best results, a multinational effort will be utilized, focusing on cognitive rehabilitation and exercise, and other novel interventions that deserve attention and which can be explored in a series of complementary, smaller studies.  The project will also work to identify the most promising approaches toward promoting and customizing brain plasticity interventions.             

Across multiple treatment centers, this novel study will measure the effectiveness of a specific cognitive rehabilitation program and specific exercise intervention for people with progressive MS. The ability to demonstrate effectiveness is essential to completing a successful trial and thereby determine a correlating standard of care – both singularly and when used in combination.  By improving cognition, fitness and the ability to walk, people’s quality of life will be improved and the efficacy of other treatments may also be increased.