Related Experiment Videos
Cardiorespiratory response to walk in multiple sclerosis patients
Alfredo Chetta1, Anais Rampello, Emilio Marangio
1Section of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Parma, Parma 10 43100, Italy. chetta@unipr.it
Respiratory Medicine
|June 12, 2004
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with mild disability experience fatigue and exertional dyspnea as separate sensations, not linked to each other. Cardiorespiratory responses during walking reveal peripheral limitations in MS patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Cardiopulmonary Physiology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease affecting balance and mobility.
- Fatigue and exertional dyspnea are common symptoms in MS patients, impacting quality of life.
- The relationship between fatigue perception, dyspnea, and cardiorespiratory responses during exertion in MS remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between fatigue perception and exertional dyspnea in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
- To assess cardiorespiratory responses during a 6-minute walk test in MS patients compared to healthy controls.
- To determine if peripheral limitations contribute to exercise intolerance in mildly disabled MS patients.
Main Methods:
- 11 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and mild disability and 10 healthy controls underwent spirometry, lung volume measurements, respiratory muscle strength tests, and the 6-minute walk test.
- Cardiorespiratory parameters including oxygen pulse and ventilatory equivalents were measured during the walk.
- Statistical analyses compared parameters between MS patients and controls, and correlated walk distance with disability and fatigue in MS patients.
Main Results:
- MS patients exhibited significantly shorter walk distances than controls (P<0.001) but similar dyspnea perception.
- Walk distance in MS patients correlated with disability score (P<0.01) but not fatigue.
- MS patients showed a decreased oxygen pulse (P<0.05) and increased ventilatory equivalent for CO2 (P<0.05) during walking, with reduced contributions of tidal volume and inspiratory time to minute ventilation.
Conclusions:
- Fatigue and exertional dyspnea are distinct sensations in mildly disabled MS patients, not directly linked.
- A peripheral limitation during walking contributes to exercise intolerance in MS.
- Cardiopulmonary exercise testing can reveal subtle impairments in MS patients not evident through basic spirometry.