Luostarinen Marko, Portaankorva Anne M, Urpilainen Pirjo, Takala Saara, Venojärvi Mika
Institute of Biomedicine, Sports and Exercise Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Research Unit of Clinical Medicine, Neurology, University of Oulu, Finland.
J Cent Nerv Syst Dis. 2025 Jun 17;17:11795735251349716. doi: 10.1177/11795735251349716. eCollection 2025.
Cognitive impairment is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Physical activity is clearly linked to cognitive performance, and several studies have shown the importance of regular cognition testing, but such testing is still not routinely performed in clinical practice.
This study aimed to investigate the association between cognition, disability, and physical performance in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients.
A total of 41 patients with RRMS with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) level of 0-5.5 and 20 healthy controls completed the MS Functional Composite (MSFC) test and the Symbol Digit Modality Test (SDMT). Six-Minute Walk (6MW) was evaluated for all participants, and they used an accelerometer for seven days.
A significant correlation was found between cognition and disability level measured by the MSFC (MSFC/SDMT, r = 0.668, = .001) and between disability and 6MW (EDSS/6MW, r = -0.516, = .001; MSFC/6MW, r = 0.348, = .028) in the patients' group. Cognition results (SDMT) were statistically significantly weaker in patients with EDSS >2.5 vs EDSS ≤2.5 or control group. Total daily activity (MVPS) correlated with cognition as measured by the SDMT in the control group but not in the patients' group. In the EDSShigh group, better results on the 6MW test were associated with better cognition results as measured by the SDMT (r = 0.505, = .039).
There was a clear association between disability, 6MW and cognition. Better results on the 6MW predicted better cognition and disability.Clinical trial registration number: NCT04115930.
认知障碍在多发性硬化症（MS）患者中很常见。身体活动与认知表现明显相关，多项研究表明定期进行认知测试的重要性，但这种测试在临床实践中仍未常规开展。
本研究旨在调查复发缓解型多发性硬化症（RRMS）患者的认知、残疾和身体表现之间的关联。
共有41例扩展残疾状态量表（EDSS）评分为0 - 5.5的RRMS患者和20名健康对照者完成了MS功能综合测试（MSFC）和符号数字模态测试（SDMT）。对所有参与者进行了六分钟步行测试（6MW），并让他们使用加速度计记录七天的活动情况。
在患者组中，发现认知与通过MSFC测量的残疾水平之间存在显著相关性（MSFC/SDMT，r = 0.668，P = .001），以及残疾与6MW之间存在显著相关性（EDSS/6MW，r = -0.516，P = .001；MSFC/6MW，r = 0.348，P = .028）。与EDSS≤2.5的患者或对照组相比，EDSS>2.5的患者的认知结果（SDMT）在统计学上显著较差。对照组中，每日总活动量（MVPS）与通过SDMT测量的认知相关，但在患者组中不相关。在EDSS高分组中，6MW测试的更好结果与通过SDMT测量的更好认知结果相关（r = 0.505，P = .039）。
残疾、6MW和认知之间存在明显关联。6MW测试的更好结果预示着更好的认知和更低的残疾程度。临床试验注册号：NCT04115930。
