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María Yaiza Pérez-Martín,1 Montserrat González-Platas,1 Pablo Eguía-del Río,2 Cristina Croissier-Elías,1 Alejandro Jiménez Sosa3 1Service of Neurology, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias, La Laguna, 2Service of Neurology, Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital, Arrecife, Lanzarote, 3Unit of Research, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Canarias, La Laguna, Spain Background: Cognitive impairment is a common feature in multiple sclerosis (MS) and may have a substantial impact on quality of life. Evidence about the effectiveness of neuropsychological rehabilitation is still limited, but current data suggest that computer-assisted cognitive training improves cognitive performance.Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combined computer-assisted training supported by home-based neuropsychological training to improve attention, processing speed, memory and executive functions during 3 consecutive months.Methods: In this randomized controlled study blinded for the evaluators, 62 MS patients with clinically stable disease and mild-to-moderate levels of cognitive impairment were randomized to receive a computer-assisted neuropsychological training program (n=30) or no intervention (control group [CG]; n=32). The cognitive assessment included the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Test. Other secondary measures included subjective cognitive impairment, anxiety and depression, fatigue and quality of life measures.Results: The treatment group (TG) showed significant improvements in measures of verbal memory, working memory and phonetic fluency after intervention, and repeated measures analysis of covariance revealed a positive effect in most of the functions. The control group (CG) did not show changes. The TG showed a significant reduction in anxiety symptoms and significant improvement in quality of life. There were no improvements in fatigue levels and depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Cognitive intervention with a computer-assisted training supported by home training between face-to-face sessions is a useful tool to treat patients with MS and improve functions such as verbal memory, working memory and phonetic fluency. Keywords: multiple sclerosis, cognitive training, cognitive impairment, rehabilitation

Recent advances in multiple sclerosis (MS) management have shifted perspectives on treatment strategies, advocating for the early initiation of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies (heDMTs). This perspective review discusses the rationale, benefits, and challenges associated with early heDMT initiation, reflecting on the obsolescence of the traditional "first-line" and "second-line" treatment classifications. The article emerges from the last update of the consensus document of the Spanish Society of Neurology on the treatment of MS. During its development, there was a recognized need to further discuss the concept of treatment lines and the early use of heDMTs. Evidence from randomized controlled trials and real-world studies suggests that early heDMT initiation leads to improved clinical outcomes, including reduced relapse rates, slowed disease progression, and decreased radiological activity, especially in younger patients or those in early disease stages. Despite the historical belief that heDMTs involve more risks and adverse events compared to moderate-efficacy DMTs (meDMTs), some studies have reported comparable safety profiles between early heDMTs and meDMTs, though long-term safety data are still lacking. The review also addresses the need for a personalized approach based on patient characteristics, prognostic factors, and preferences, explores the importance of therapeutic inertia, and highlights the evolving landscape of international and national guidelines that increasingly advocate for early intensive treatment approaches. The article also addresses the challenges of ensuring access to these therapies and the importance of further research to establish long-term safety and effectiveness of DMTs in MS., (© The Author(s), 2024.)

Introduction: Gait disorders are a major cause of disability and reduced health-related quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). Dry needling (DN) has demonstrated positive results to improve gait parameters in patients with stroke. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a single session of DN in the gait performance of pwMS., Methods: A double-blind parallel randomized sham-controlled pilot trial was conducted. Study participants received a single session of active DN or sham DN in the gastrocnemius medialis muscle. Pre-treatment and immediately post-treatment measurements were taken, as well as at one and four weeks after the intervention. Outcomes related to gait performance (Timed 25-Foot Walk), self-perceived walking capacity (Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale), risk of falls (Timed Up and Go test), disability level (Expanded Disability Status Score) and quality of life (Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 questionnaire and Analogic Quality of Life scale) were evaluated., Results: 18 patients who had multiple sclerosis participated in the study. The group who received active DN showed within-group significant statistical differences immediately after treatment for gait performance ( p = 0.008) and risk of falls ( p = 0.008), as well as for self-perceived walking capacity at one week ( p = 0.017) and four weeks ( p = 0.011) and quality of life at four weeks ( p = 0.014). Regarding the comparison between groups, only significant results were obtained in the physical domain of the quality of life at four weeks ( p = 0.014)., Conclusions: DN seems to be a promising therapeutic tool for the treatment of gait disorders in pwMS. However, when results were compared with sham DN, no differences were found., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Multiple sclerosis is a degenerative inflammatory disease that causes different musculoskeletal problems. Its impact has led to the study of treatment alternatives such as the use of invasive physiotherapy. In this study, we analyze the effects of ultrasound-guided percutaneous neuromodulation to a 51-year-old man suffering from multiple sclerosis and an associated hemiparesis in the left upper limb. A dry needling needle was placed in contact with the median nerve under ultrasound guidance and 10 trains of 10 seconds of electrostimulation with a frequency of 10 Hz and an impulse width of 240 µs were applied, with 10 seconds of pause between them. There was a significant improvement in the grip strength immediately after the treatment which increased progressively at 24 hours and at 4 days follow-up. There was also an improvement in the hand function, with a decrease in the time necessary to perform the 9 Hole Peg Test immediately after the treatment, which was maintained at 24 hours and at 4 days follow-up. Future studies with larger samples are needed to further test the effects of this invasive physiotherapy technique as well as its possible applications to other neurological conditions., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© 2023 Javier-Ormazábal et al.)

Background: The increase in available disease modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis has led to greater emphasis on improving treatment sequencing paradigms. This article summarises the opinions from a panel of 25 experts on treatment switching approaches in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS)., Methods: A modified Delphi consensus process was carried out to develop clinically relevant statements for aiding treatment decisions in patients with RMS between the 16 th January and the 9 th October 2019. A sub-group of two experts (core group) carried out an extensive review of the literature and formulated 106 statements for the expert panel to evaluate., Results: From a total number of 106 statements that were submitted to the expert panel for critical evaluation, consensus (at least 80% of the panelists agreed) was reached on 99 of them. These statements cover treatment objectives, reasons for DMT switching, suboptimal response criteria, strategies for treatment change and washout periods., Conclusion: The agreed statements provide up-to-date guidance on DMT sequencing for optimal patient management., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Introduction: Nowadays, a set of novel physiotherapy techniques have emerged, in which the physical agent used to try to reduce spasticity is applied percutaneously, specifically, through the patient's skin. The aim of this work is to encompass all the invasive techniques used in spasticity in a single article, updating the existing bibliography., Methodology: A systematic review was carried out between December 2020 and April 2021 in the Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed databases, selecting the clinical trials that used acupuncture, electroacupuncture or dry needling as a treatment for spasticity. Sixteen clinical trials were included, summarizing all the study characteristics and the outcome measures, at last the evidence was described for their results., Results: Most of the studies find a difference of significant decrease in spasticity between the subjects of the experimental groups. Only four studies found no significant changes in spasticity. All the studies are carried out together with the conventional physiotherapy treatment in spasticity., Conclusion: Treatment with invasive physiotherapy, combined with conventional physiotherapy, seems to have positive effects in reducing spasticity, although more studies are needed to improve the heterogeneity of the interventions and to assess their long-term effectiveness., Competing Interests: Dr Montserrat González-Platas reports personal fees from Sanofi, Biogen, Roche, and Novartis, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2022 Javier-Ormazábal et al.)

[Purpose] The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of dry needling (DN) in the treatment of spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). [Participants and Methods] Twelve participants (3 males and 9 females) with MS, with no evidence of a relapse in the last four weeks and with an EDSS (Expanded Disability Status Scale) greater than 2.5 points (related with pyramidal score) were recruited. DN was performed in lower limbs for 12 consecutive sessions and evaluated with: PSFS (Penn Spasm Frequency Scale), VAS (visual analogical scale) of spasticity, EDSS (Pyramidal item), Time up and go (TUG), 25 foot, 9hold peg test (9HPT) and the improvement or not in the quality of life (MSQol54) was verified before and after treatment. A follow up visit was carried out to assess improvement. [Results] All patients improved in: VAS scale, EDSS score, quality of life, 9HPT, 25 foot test and TUG and 90% of them showed a decrease in the number of spasms/hour (PSFS). [Conclusion] Dry needling produces positive changes in spasticity in patients with MS and their quality of life, as well as walking capacity and manual dexterity. Therefore, DN should be considered in the treatment of spasticity in patients with MS., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript., (2021©by the Society of Physical Therapy Science. Published by IPEC Inc.)

Objective: To understand COVID-19 characteristics in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and identify high-risk individuals due to their immunocompromised state resulting from the use of disease-modifying treatments., Methods: Retrospective and multicenter registry in patients with MS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and available disease course (mild = ambulatory; severe = hospitalization; and critical = intensive care unit/death). Cases were analyzed for associations between MS characteristics and COVID-19 course and for identifying risk factors for a fatal outcome., Results: Of the 326 patients analyzed, 120 were cases confirmed by real-time PCR, 34 by a serologic test, and 205 were suspected. Sixty-nine patients (21.3%) developed severe infection, 10 (3%) critical, and 7 (2.1%) died. Ambulatory patients were higher in relapsing MS forms, treated with injectables and oral first-line agents, whereas more severe cases were observed in patients on pulsed immunosuppressors and critical cases among patients with no therapy. Severe and critical infections were more likely to affect older males with comorbidities, with progressive MS forms, a longer disease course, and higher disability. Fifteen of 33 patients treated with rituximab were hospitalized. Four deceased patients have progressive MS, 5 were not receiving MS therapy, and 2 were treated (natalizumab and rituximab). Multivariate analysis showed age (OR 1.09, 95% CI, 1.04-1.17) as the only independent risk factor for a fatal outcome., Conclusions: This study has not demonstrated the presumed critical role of MS therapy in the course of COVID-19 but evidenced that people with MS with advanced age and disease, in progressive course, and those who are more disabled have a higher probability of severe and even fatal disease., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Neurology.)

The study of the relationship between function and structure of the brain could be particularly interesting in neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of the present work is to identify differences of the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in the mirror neuron system (MNS) between MS patients and healthy controls and to study the relationship between ALFF and the gray matter volume (GMV) of the regions that belong to the MNS. Relapsing-remitting MS patients with minor disability were compared to healthy controls (HC) using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), anatomic T1 weighted images and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Region of interest (ROI) analyses was performed in the MNS regions. A decrease of ALFF in MS patients was observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Furthermore, a correlation between ALFF in the IFG and the GMV of the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) was identified. This relationship was different for MS patients than for HC, which may be associated with changes in diffusivity measures which were impaired in MS patients. MS patients with low disability may show ALFF differences in the MNS without clinical correspondence. This functional difference may be associated with cortical and subcortical changes related to the disease.

In this work, hip and knee angles were decoded from low frequency EEG components recorded during the execution of two tasks. In order to compare their performance, three decoders based on multiple linear regression (MLR) models were applied under different conditions; which consisted in considering the processed data as a whole or divided into segments. Results suggest that, when the segments are related to specific tasks, the segmentation provides a better performance than applying the decoding method to unsegmented data.

Neurenteric cysts (NC) are rare, benign, congenital lesions, caused by abnormal or persistent communications between neuroectodermal structures, the notochord and endodermal tissue. They present mainly in the pediatric population or young adults, coexisting with spinal, gastrointestinal or respiratory malformations. They are typically intradural extramedullary tumors, with intramedullary lesions the exception. The objective of this paper is to report the case of a cervical intramedullary neuroenteric cyst in a young adult, without coexisting malformations. According to the literature, surgical treatment is elective though, considering the high recurrence rate, radical resection should be the surgical goal. Follow-up with magnetic resonance imaging is recommended for subtotal surgical resections., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Background: The fibrinolytic system is capable of modulating inflammatory and degenerative events within the central nervous system. Specifically, the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has been associated with different pathological conditions in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its role in cognitive functioning is also known., Objectives and Methods: To study the association between plasma levels and the polymorphic variants of the PAI-1 gene and cognitive performance in MS. 176 patients were studied. Neuropsychological evaluation was performed with the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests (BRB-N). A Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was used to determine PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphisms and quantification was performed using an Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA)., Results: Participants were categorized as not cognitively impaired (NCI; n=114) and cognitively impaired (CI; n=62). The NCI group had a higher percentage of heterozygous subjects but no statistical differences were found between the CI and NCI group. Neuropsychological functioning did not correlate with plasma levels of PAI-1 or its genetic polymorphism. It is noteworthy that PAI-1 plasma levels were related to neurological impairment., Discussion: Cognitive impairment in MS is due to strategic focal lesions affecting regions and tracts involved in cognitive processes and to diffuse damage in the white and gray matter. This complex etiology could explain the absence of a relationship between the cognitive functioning and PAI-1 in patients with MS that has been found in vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Plasma curves of PAI-1 and its measures in cerebrospinal fluid could help elucidate the role of PAI-1 in MS., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To study the visuospatial/visuoperceptive function using a mirror neuron system (MNS) based approach in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and a healthy control group. Two task-based fMRIs (an execution task and an observation task) and one resting-fMRI were performed in a group of MS patients (n = 24) and a group of healthy controls (n = 15). The execution and observation tasks consisted of the performance or observation of the index-thumb opposition task. Statistical parametric mapping approaches were used to identify differences in the brain activity and functional connectivity (FC) of the MNS between MS patients and healthy controls. Furthermore, visuospatial and visuoperceptive evaluation was performed by a neuropsychologist on all the participants. No global differences between groups were identified when the activity during both the execution and the observation conditions was tested. Nevertheless, differences in FC maps were identified: healthy controls showed higher connectivity between the MNS regions (between the inferior parietal lobule and the inferior frontal gyrus bilaterally) than MS patients. The absence of differences between the studied groups may be the consequence of the selection of a cohort of MS patients with low disability and with no recent relapse. However, the presence of a decrease in functional connectivity within the MNS in MS patients could indicate the presence of subclinical disability in MNS functioning, not measurable by neuropsychological tests.

Study Objectives: Sleep disorders are seen in patients with demyelinating disease (DD) more often than in the general population. Combination of physical and psychological factors such as pain, spasms, nocturia, depression, anxiety, or medication effects could contribute to sleep disruption. Frequently, these disturbances have a major impact on health and quality of life of patients. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of sleep disorders in patients seen in the DD consultation., Methods: 240 patients; mean age 43 years, 187 women; 163 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS): 144 relapsing-remitting, 19 progressive forms, 36 clinically isolated syndrome, 26 radiological isolated syndrome, and 15 patients with others DD. All participants completed questionnaires: Pittsburgh, Epworth, and Stanford scales, indirect symptoms of RLS and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54., Results: Moderate/severe insomnia 12.5%, OSA 5.8%, RLS 9.6% (confirmed 3 cases), narcolepsy 0, fatigue (> 4) 24.6%. Physical QoL 66.6 ± 19.6, Mental QoL 66.1 ± 21.9. Patients with an established diagnosis showed higher scores on insomnia compared to the group of CIS and RIS (F = 3.85; p = 0.023), no differences were in the other parameters. Fatigue showed high correlation with insomnia (r = 0.443; p < 0.001), RLS (r = 0.513; p < 0.001), and sleepiness (r = 0.211; p = 0.001). None of the variables included in the regression model were shown to be predictors of Physical and Mental QoL., Conclusions: A high percentage of our sample sleeps well. Emphasize the low prevalence of sleep disorders (insomnia, fatigue, RLS, etc). We detected an overestimation in the RLS questionnaire and the low QoL recorded., (© 2016 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.)

Experimental study about suture materials of mean velocity absorption, in order to demonstrate their capacity to obtain a correct and sure arterial cicatrization by means of their tensile force, even though they disappear afterwards by absorption. 32 arterial anastomosis were carry out, and all of them resisted 300 mmHg of pressure, without to be broken.