Simplified indices of aerobic capacity among patients suffering from multiple sclerosis with mild neurological disability

Valet, Maxime [UCL] Stoquart, Gaëtan [UCL] Lejeune, Thierry [UCL]

Up to 90% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) will suffer from pathological fatigue, and most of the patients identifies it as their worst symptom. MS-related fatigue is independent from the severity of the disease and interferes with desired activities and participation, and thus, lowers quality of life. Its management remains a challenge for clinicians. Besides this, it is well known that patients with MS may have a broad range of functional impairments, even those with so-called mild neurological disability. Determining valid and reliable tools to assess these impairments, that could be subtle, is one of our aims. We recently showed that fatigue is moderately linked to physical fitness, walking capacity and general mobility among mildly disabled patients with MS. It has been suggested that aerobic and resistance therapeutic exercises could have a positive effect on fatigue among these patients. However, due to interference with other activities, lack of support, lack of time or poor self-efficacy, these patients are often reluctant to engage in such activities. In this context, and with the fast development and broad availability of health- and exercise-related technology, a telerehabilitative strategy could improve the management of MS-related fatigue. Such an approach has been proven effective in various chronic pathologies (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, stroke, COPD…), reducing patient’s and caregiver’s burden, as well as healthcare costs and inequalities. Our next aim is to develop and assess the efficacy and effectiveness of an exercise-based telerehabilitation program targeting MS-related fatigue, by the mean of an international multicentric assessor-blind RCT.