Mapping two decades of multiple sclerosis rehabilitation trials: A systematic scoping review and call to action to advance the study of race and ethnicity in rehabilitation research.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS), is prevalent across many racial and ethnic groups, and disproportionately impacts racially minoritized populations. Rehabilitation interventions are an important component of comprehensive MS care. Yet, we do not know the extent to which MS rehabilitation trials consider race and ethnicity in defining eligibility criteria, planning recruitment strategies, selecting outcome measures, supporting intervention delivery, and designing approaches to promote adherence and retention.

A mixed-methods study of cognitive performance in persons with multiple sclerosis: Association between neuropsychological test performance and interviews about daily cognitive functioning.

Background: Cognitive difficulties are commonly reported in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), however, self-reports of cognition often do not correspond well to objective neuropsychological test performance. The use of qualitative interviews can allow for persons with MS to describe in more detail how their cognitive function is impacted in daily life while also taking into consideration personal and environmental influences. No study to our knowledge has examined the association between objective neuropsychological test performance and qualitative interview reports of daily cognitive function.

Experiences and perceived outcomes of persons with multiple sclerosis from participating in a randomized controlled trial testing implementation of the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults with MS: an embedded qualitative study.

Purpose: To describe the experiences and outcomes of participants who enrolled in a randomized controlled trial testing implementation of the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults with Multiple Sclerosis.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-six persons with MS who enrolled in the trial participated in the current study which involved a semi-structured interview at 16-week follow-up. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

A multi-site, randomized controlled trial of MS INFoRm, a fatigue self-management website for persons with multiple sclerosis: rationale and study protocol.

Background: Fatigue is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The majority of approaches for managing MS fatigue typically require participation in a structured, time-limited program with a fixed sequence of topics and activities. MS INFoRm (Multiple Sclerosis: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource) is a self-directed MS fatigue management resource incorporating principles of self-management and adult learning.

Enhanced Recruitment During Executive Control Processing in Cognitively Preserved Patients With Pediatric-Onset MS.

Objectives: Youth and young adults with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) are vulnerable to executive dysfunction; however, some patients do not demonstrate functional deficits despite showing abnormalities on structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cognitively intact adults with MS have shown enhanced activation patterns relative to healthy controls on working memory tasks. We aim to evaluate whether cognitively preserved pediatric-onset MS patients engage compensatory recruitment strategies to facilitate age-normative performance on a task of working memory.

Progressive resistance exercise training and changes in resting-state functional connectivity of the caudate in persons with multiple sclerosis and severe fatigue: A proof-of-concept study.

Fatigue is one of the most disabling symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). While progressive resistance training (PRT) has been shown to reduce fatigue in persons with MS, it is not clear why these reductions occur. One hypothesis is that PRT may induce functional changes to the caudate, a region highly implicated in MS fatigue.

Imaging Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis-Challenges and Recent Advances.

Pediatric onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) is a rare disease with an incidence of 0.07 to 2.9/100'000 children per year.

The Experience of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis Using MS INFoRm: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource.

We aimed to understand participants' experiences with a self-guided fatigue management resource, Multiple Sclerosis: An Interactive Fatigue Management Resource ( MS INFoRm), and the extent to which they found its contents relevant and useful to their daily lives. We recruited 35 persons with MS experiencing mild to moderate fatigue, provided them with MS INFoRm, and then conducted semistructured interviews 3 weeks and 3 months after they received the resource. Interpretive description guided the analysis process.

A pilot mixed-methods evaluation of MS INFoRm: a self-directed fatigue management resource for individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Fatigue management interventions for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) often feature structured programmes requiring repeated, in-person attendance that is not possible for all individuals. We sought to determine whether MS INFoRm, a self-directed fatigue management resource for individuals with MS, was worth further, more rigorous evaluation. Our indicators of worthiness were actual use of the resource by participants over 3 months, reductions in fatigue impact and increases in self-efficacy, and participant reports of changes in fatigue management knowledge and behaviours.

Maturational Trajectory of Processing Speed Performance in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis.

Processing speed is a frequently affected cognitive domain in pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) and is commonly assessed using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). The objective of this study was to determine maturational trajectories in SDMT performance and baseline factors affecting trajectories in a sample of 82 pediatric MS individuals. Performance on the SDMT increased with age in patients with pediatric MS followed by a subsequent decline.

Alterations in Functional and Structural Connectivity in Pediatric-Onset Multiple Sclerosis.

Background: Reduced white matter (WM) integrity is a fundamental aspect of pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS), though relations to resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) connectivity remain unknown. The objective of this study was to relate diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) measures of WM microstructural integrity to resting-state network (RSN) functional connectivity in pediatric-onset MS to test the hypothesis that abnormalities in RSN reflects changes in structural integrity.

Methods: This study enrolled 19 patients with pediatric-onset MS (mean age = 19, range 13-24 years, 14 female, mean disease duration = 65 months, mean age of disease onset = 13 years) and 16 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC).

Brain activation patterns and cognitive processing speed in patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the extent and pattern of brain activation elicited by a functional magnetic resonance imaging version of the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (fMRI-SDMT), a task of information processing speed, in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients as compared to sex- and age-matched non-MS self-reported healthy individuals.

Method: Participants included 20 right-handed individuals aged 13-24 years with pediatric-onset MS (mean age = 19 years, 15 female) and 16 non-MS self-reported healthy individuals. All participants underwent a 3.

Altered resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively preserved pediatric-onset MS patients and relationship to structural damage and cognitive performance.

Objective: To evaluate resting-state functional connectivity (FC) and relationship to brain volumes and cognition in a sample of cognitively preserved pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

Methods: Sixteen cognitively intact pediatric-onset MS patients and 15 healthy age- and sex-matched controls underwent cognitive testing and 3T anatomical and functional MRI. Resting-state FC patterns were examined using region-of-interest-based timeseries correlations.

Self-assessment of cognition in Multiple Sclerosis: the role of personality and anxiety.

Objective: : To investigate the role of personality and anxiety to self-report measures of cognition in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Background: : Self-report measures of cognition have consistently been shown to correlate better with depressed mood than neuropsychological test performance in patients with MS, with few studies focusing on the role of anxiety and personality.

Method: : One hundred eight MS patients completed the following: (a) patient and informant report Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ); (b) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; (c) cognitive assessment with the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological Tests; and (d) personality assessment using the self-report NEO Five-Factor Inventory.

Diffusion tensor imaging abnormalities in cognitively impaired multiple sclerosis patients.

Background: Cognitive impairment can add to the burden of disease in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to assess the relative importance of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices derived from normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and grey matter (NAGM) in determining cognitive dysfunction in MS patients.

Methods: Sixty two MS patients [51 female, mean age = 41 (sd = 9.

Validity of a computerized version of the symbol digit modalities test in multiple sclerosis.

The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) is a particularly sensitive measure of cognitive dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). While computerized versions have been developed for use in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), none has been validated in MS patients. The aim of this study was to validate a new computerized version of the SDMT for use in MS patients.

Predicting employment status in multiple sclerosis patients: the utility of the MS functional composite.

As many as two-thirds of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are unable to retain employment. Neurological and cognitive status are known to be significant predictors of unemployment, but the relationship between the two is unclear. Furthermore, the association between employment status and depression, anxiety, and personality has not been adequately explored in MS patients.

Validity of an Internet version of the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire.

Background: Neuropsychological batteries are long and require expertise to administer. For this reason, the Multiple Sclerosis Neuropsychological Questionnaire (MSNQ) was developed as it is quick and easy to complete. The informant version of the scale has proven to be a useful screen for cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis (MS).

The perceptual consequences of the attentional bias: evidence for distractor removal.

A fundamental question of attentional research concerns the perceptual consequences of attention. Spatial attention can enhance stimuli within the focus of attention relative to stimuli outside; or attention can remove the influence of distracting stimuli and other forms of external noise inside the focus of attention. It is known that both strategies apply depending on how attention is cued to a location in space.