Effects of rehabilitation treatment of the upper limb in multiple sclerosis patients and predictive value of neurophysiological measures.

Background: Dysfunctions of the upper limbs occur in the 66% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. To date, no data, about the persistence of the effects of a rehabilitation treatment and no prognostic markers of functional improvement, have been established.

Aim: The aim of this study was to define clinical data supporting the efficacy of a rehabilitation treatment in MS patients with upper limb impairment and to find prognostic factors for functional improvement.

Somatosensory evoked potentials reflect the upper limb motor performance in multiple sclerosis.

Objective: The aim of this multicentric study was to multidimensionally evaluate the relationship among somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) parameters, patient's perspective and clinical measures of the upper limb impairment in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Methods: We consecutively enrolled 39 MS patients. For median nerve SEPs we acquired the N9, P14, N20 responses and the N9-P14 and P14-N20 interpeak latencies on the dominant side.