Exercise Therapy in Early Multiple Sclerosis Improves Physical Function But Not Cognition: Secondary Analyses From a...

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Exercise Science

Background:

• Exercise is known to benefit multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms and physiological systems.
• A critical "window of opportunity" for exercise therapy in the early stages of MS remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of early exercise intervention on physical function, cognition, and patient-reported outcomes in early MS.
• To analyze secondary outcomes from the Early Multiple Sclerosis Exercise Study.

Main Methods:

• A 48-week randomized controlled trial involving 84 participants with MS diagnosed less than two years prior.
• Intervention groups included supervised aerobic exercise and an active control (health education).
• Outcomes measured physical function (aerobic fitness, walking, dexterity), cognition (processing speed, memory), and patient-reported disease/fatigue impact.

Main Results:

• Aerobic exercise demonstrated superior improvements in aerobic fitness compared to the control group (large effect size).
• While not statistically significant, measures of walking and upper-limb function favored the exercise group (small-to-medium effect sizes).
• Cognition and overall disability were not significantly affected; however, both groups reported reduced disease and fatigue impact.

Conclusions:

• Supervised aerobic exercise in early MS appears to positively influence physical function, though not cognitive function.
• Patient-reported perceptions of disease and fatigue impact may be positively modified by exercise in the early stages of MS.