[Cortical reorganization in multiple sclerosis with movement disorders detected by functional MRI (own observations...

Cortical reorganization in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been recently suggested as an additional potential contributor to the recovery or maintenance of function in the irreversible tissue damage. Functional cortical changes have been demonstrated in all MS phenotypes using motor fMRI paradigms. Data from available studies suggest that movement-associated cortical reorganization in patients with MS seems to vary across individuals at different stages of disease. Cortical reorganization may play a role in limiting the impact of structural tissue damage in MS patients and, conversely, its progressive exhaustion with disease progression may be one of the factors contributing to the accumulation of irreversible disability. The enhancement of any beneficial effects of this cortical adaptive plasticity should be considered as a potential target of therapy for MS.