Effect of Exoskeleton-Assisted Rehabilitation Over Prefrontal Cortex in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Neuroimaging...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) often impairs motor and cognitive functions.
• The Human Body Posturizer (HBP) is an exoskeleton designed to improve mobility in MS patients.
• Neural correlates of motor and cognitive deficits in MS are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of the HBP exoskeleton on neural activity in MS patients.
• To assess the impact of HBP-assisted rehabilitation on motor and cognitive functions.
• To investigate if HBP normalizes brain activity patterns in MS.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving two groups of MS patients undergoing a 6-week rehabilitation program.
• An experimental group used the HBP exoskeleton during physical exercises.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity during a visuomotor task.

Main Results:

• The experimental group using HBP showed significantly lower activity in the inferior frontal gyrus compared to the control group.
• Post-treatment brain activity in the HBP group was similar to that of healthy subjects.
• HBP use correlated with a normalization of prefrontal cortex activity.

Conclusions:

• The Human Body Posturizer (HBP) can normalize prefrontal cortex activity in MS patients.
• HBP-assisted rehabilitation may mitigate cortical hyperactivity associated with MS.
• Exoskeleton technology shows promise in addressing neurological impairments in MS.