In this study, participants underwent imaging scans of various regions of the brain. They also completed questionnaires assessing the frequency of strenuous (e.g., jogging), moderate (e.g., fast walking), and mild (e.g., easy walking) exercise for periods of more than 15 minutes per week during an individual’s free time.
People whose scores indicated regular activity maintained tissue volume in a region of the brain called the “hippocampus,” which is associated with learning and consolidating memories. Those people who did not regularly participate in exercise tended to have lower hippocampus volumes.
The National MS Society recently convened a group of experts in the fields of MS, exercise, rehabilitation, and physical activity to review available studies and develop recommendations for healthcare providers who can advise individuals with MS at all disability levels. Learn more
The COVID-19 pandemic makes some exercise goals difficult to achieve. The Centers for Disease Control provide some advice for overcoming barriers to increasing physical activity.
“The importance of physical activity to preserve hippocampal volume in people with multiple sclerosis: a structural MRI study” by Alon Kalron, PhD, PT (Tel-Aviv University, Tel‑Aviv, Israel) and colleagues was published July 22 in the Journal of Neurology. About Multiple SclerosisMultiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.SHARE
