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Investigating the potential disease-modifying and neuroprotective efficacy of exercise therapy early in the disease course of multiple sclerosis: the early multiple sclerosis exercise study (EMSES) |
Riemenschneider M, Hvid LG, Ringgaard S, Nygaard MKE, Eskildsen SF, Gaemelke T, Magyari M, Jensen HB, Nielsen HH, Kant M, Falah M, Petersen T, Stenager E, Dalgas U |
Multiple Sclerosis Journal 2022 Sep;28(10):1620-1629 |
clinical trial |
6/10 [Eligibility criteria: Yes; Random allocation: Yes; Concealed allocation: Yes; Baseline comparability: Yes; Blind subjects: No; Blind therapists: No; Blind assessors: Yes; Adequate follow-up: No; Intention-to-treat analysis: No; Between-group comparisons: Yes; Point estimates and variability: Yes. Note: Eligibility criteria item does not contribute to total score] *This score has been confirmed* |
BACKGROUND: Potential supplemental disease-modifying and neuroprotective treatment strategies are warranted in multiple sclerosis (MS). Exercise is a promising non-pharmacological approach, and an uninvestigated 'window of opportunity' exists early in the disease course. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of early exercise on relapse rate, global brain atrophy and secondary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) outcomes. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial (n = 84, disease duration < 2 years) included 48 weeks of supervised aerobic exercise or control condition. Population-based control data (Danish MS Registry) was included (n = 850, disease duration < 2 years). Relapse rates were obtained from medical records, and patients underwent structural and diffusion-kurtosis MRI at baseline, 24 and 48 weeks. RESULTS: No between-group differences were observed for primary outcomes, relapse rate (incidence-rate-ratio exercise relative to control: (0.49 (0.15 to 1.66), p = 0.25) and global brain atrophy rate (-0.04 (-0.48 to 0.40)%, p = 0.87), or secondary measures of lesion load. Aerobic fitness increased in favour of the exercise group. Microstructural integrity was higher in four of eight a priori defined motor-related tracts and nuclei in the exercise group compared with the control (thalamus, corticospinal tract, globus pallidus, cingulate gyrus) at 48 weeks. CONCLUSION: Early supervised aerobic exercise did not reduce relapse rate or global brain atrophy, but does positively affect the microstructural integrity of important motor-related tracts and nuclei.
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