cognitive fatigue

Signal Detection Theory May Help Measure MS Cognitive Fatigue

A new tool called signal detection theory (SDT) found a relationship between subjective cognitive fatigue, often experienced by people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and the activation of certain brain regions, a study reported. Although the relationship was found in both patients and healthy controls after cognitive fatigue was…

The Double-edged Sword of Fatigue Medications

ā€œI close my eyes/ Only for a moment then the momentā€™s gone/ All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity.ā€ ā€” Kansas, “Dust in the Wind”Ā  The dark cloud of fatigue first swept through my mind toward the end of 2018. I was no stranger to physical fatigue,…

Trial to Examine if Ocrevus Eases Cognitive Fatigue in RRMS

Researchers at the Kessler Foundation, with support from Genentech, are opening a study into howĀ Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) affects cognitive fatigue ā€” the feeling of complete exhaustion after focused concentration ā€” in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognitive fatigue is a frequent problem with MS, reported in…

New Study Will Assess Tysabri Effects on MS Cognitive Fatigue

Researchers from the Kessler Foundation will launch a new study investigating the effects of Tysabri (natalizumab) on cognitive fatigue ā€” the type of fatigue that happens after strong mental concentration, such as in problem-solving ā€” in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Cognitive fatigue, which is very…

Goal Attainment Interventions May Reduce Cognitive Fatigue in MS, Study Finds

Behavioral therapy focusing on goal attainment might reduce cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients, finds a study that used brain imaging to examine goal-oriented tasks involving rewards. Since fatigue is one of the most common MS symptoms, affecting up to 90 percent of patients, researchers at the Kessler Foundation in East Hanover, New Jersey, say their findings could open the door to new non-medication approaches to treating MS-related fatigue. Scientists believe that a part of the brain, called the fronto-striatal network, causes fatigue. But studies also show that the network is active during goal attainment tasks, and that such tasks can reduce fatigue in healthy people. Equipped with this knowledge, Kessler researchers recruited 19 MS patients and 14 healthy controls, and exposed them to one of two conditions. In the first, they had the chance to win money while gambling. Researchers called this the outcome condition. The second condition did not include the prospect of a reward, or outcome. The tasks were performed in a brain scanner. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain ā€” a method that tracks brain activity by monitoring blood flow ā€” researchers could study how different tasks activated the fronto-striatal network. It turned out that the prospect of a reward activated parts of the network in deep brain structures, while parts of the prefrontal cortex were more active during the task without a potential reward. Importantly, the activation seen during the reward condition was linked to significantly lower levels of fatigue, which researchers measured outside the scanner. While researchers used a gambling task to study the process, similar exercises like achieving a good score on a test, might work equally well, researchers said. In fact, goal attainment is already incorporated in many neuropsychological rehabilitation efforts, including in MS.

#CMSC16 – MS Care Should Include Fatigue, Sleep Quality and Inattentiveness Assessment, Study Shows

Mayis Al Dughmi, of the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Kansas Medical Center, recently presented her findings on the relationship between fatigue, measured using the Neurological Fatigue Index (NFI-MS), and sleep quality and attentiveness in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings indicate that cognitive…