summary: Some people with MS may experience a progression of their symptoms over time. However, the exact mechanisms underlying this progression are not fully understood and it is difficult to predict whose symptoms will worsen and whose will remain stable. The authors studied a group of people with MS, with and without clinical signs of motor dysfunction, and a group of healthy controls, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is a physiological test which measures the damage of motor pathways of the central nervous system by measuring the speed of nerve fibre conduction and other related parameters. They found that people with MS had abnormal results in the TMS compared to the controls. The authors also found that people with a higher level of disability had more severe TMS abnormalities. The results demonstrate that TMS may be a useful tool in measuring progression in MS and better understanding the underlying processes responsible for disability in MS.

authors: Kale N, Agaoglu J, Onder G, Tanik O

source: J Clin Neurosci. 2009 Aug 18

weblink: click here

category: Physiology

related research news: click here

glossary: