This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

You mean, increasing blood flow via exercise improves brain function? Do tell more!
So the neuros are telling us that "increasing nerve growth factor" is the mitigating factor behind blood flow ergo aerobic exercise improving MS symptoms. How quaint. Could it be the ONLY factor, or just the one that makes their day brighter?

Fitness Boosts Brain Power in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last updated: November 08, 2010
Exercise appears to protect the brains of people with multiple sclerosis, study findings suggest.

Researchers assessed fitness, cognitive function and brain structural changes in 21 women with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).

Patients who were classified as being highly fit performed much better on cognitive function tests than less-fit patients. MRI scans also showed that higher levels of fitness were associated with greater volume of gray matter, which is linked to vital brain processing skills, and less damage in parts of the brain where MS-related deterioration occurs.

"We found that aerobic fitness has a protective effect on parts of the brain that are most affected by multiple sclerosis," study lead author Ruchika Shaurya Prakash, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University, said in a news release. "As a result, these fitter patients actually show better performance on tasks that measure processing speed."

The researchers also found that fitter MS patients showed less deterioration of brain white matter, which are fibers that connect gray matter areas.

The study findings were released online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Brain Research.

Previous research has shown that exercise promotes production of proteins called nerve growth factors, which play an important role in the growth and maintenance of neurons in the brain.

"Our hypothesis is that aerobic exercise enhances these nerve growth factors in MS patients, which increases the volume of the gray matter and increases the integrity of the white matter. As a result, there is an improvement in cognitive function," Prakash said.

"For a long time, MS patients were told not to exercise because there was a fear it could exacerbate their symptoms. But we're finding that if MS patients exercise in a controlled setting, it can actually help them with their cognitive function," she added.

http://www.caring.com/articles/fitness- ... patients-2

From my own POV, my cog fog short term AND long term memory alone improved quite drastically post-op. I wonder how they measured improvements on this for the study, can I take the test too??

_________________
RRMS Dx'd 2007, first episode 2004. Bilateral stent placement, 3 on left, 1 stent on right, at Stanford August 2009. Watch my operation video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwc6QlLVtko, Virtually symptom free since, no relap

Just for starters, too small sample size, and not double-blinded. The neuros haven't shown us that NOT exercising DOESN'T improve brain function. More research needed before we can start recommending exercise to the patients. And I suck at spelling exercise, sometimes I put the extra "c" in, sometimes I don't...

Tucking in the link to the publishing journal, there's nothing to see there beyond what I copied, just for future ref.

http://journals.elsevier.com/00068993/brain-research/

_________________
RRMS Dx'd 2007, first episode 2004. Bilateral stent placement, 3 on left, 1 stent on right, at Stanford August 2009. Watch my operation video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwc6QlLVtko, Virtually symptom free since, no relap

Thanks for posting this. Before my diagnosis I was an avid weight lifter, but I've found that my relapses have all come after heavy exercise periods. I've now started doing low impact exercise, like walking/swimming, and now only lift with very little resistance. This makes me feel much better, and I no longer get dizzy after exercise. Do you think that there could be a point at which exercise might actually be detrimental? Maybe the increased blood pressure and heart rate might cause more reflux??

Bwahaha! And don't forget, exercise is very risky and dangerous.

^

weight lifting sometimes involves valsalva manuever (breath holding that comes with straining) which creates reflux in many, not just pwMS. Sounds like your current program is great, ikulo.

Cardiovascular exercise is so good for the endothelial layer of blood vessels...it repairs nitric oxide bioavailability in cardiovascular disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15604930
cheer

_________________
Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

No way to know which came first: feeling well enough to exercise or exercising to feel well.

I'm down for thoracic pumps, any way we can gets them...

Yes, I would avoid unecessarily instigating any kind of valsalva maneuvers just on the reflux angle alone, but not sure how doing that in a limited fashion will be harmful any more than holding your breath and bearing down just for kicks.

What I wouldn't give to have those same ladies tested for CCSVI, but it is good to show yet another benefit to aerobic exercise for those with MS, I've found even energetic animated discussions on the telly leave me energized, let alone more aggressive undertakings. While that's not an answer for all, and people will be limited by their physical abilities, lungs are lungs and they certainly can be utilized in a variety of ways that don't necessarily require going 20 mph on a treadmill. There's tons of stuff on the net for ideas on aerobic exercise for the disabled.

My own example which I've stated before:

In 2004 I was working in Redlands in 105-108 heat every day. When my responsibilities took me up to the top of the tower on a regular basis, it was 135 steps up and down, double that if you forgot your wrench (doh!). I had expected to not last long out there, as the fatigue would get so crippling, how to perform, time is money after all.

Yet, after several weeks of that up and down stuff, loaded with tools, harness on which was extra weight, I felt like such a rabbit, I'd LOOK for reasons to go up and down because it felt so good.

Yet towards the end of the job, we got stuck fabricating underneath the unit in the shade, remaining in one spot for a good portion of the day. Guess what? Sure enough I felt steadily worse every day, until the heat was just consuming my brain turning it into jelly, it was awful trying to slog through the day. I asked to be on the first layoff list, they wanted me to stay, I was desperate to go, couldn't take any more. Tried every cooling trick in the book, nothing helped.

Now, it all makes perfect sense why the bolting up stairs was so beneficial, and the stationary part later on was so exhausting. Another one for the "if I knew then what I know now".

_________________
RRMS Dx'd 2007, first episode 2004. Bilateral stent placement, 3 on left, 1 stent on right, at Stanford August 2009. Watch my operation video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwc6QlLVtko, Virtually symptom free since, no relap

I don't know what you guys will think of this, but I am going to say it anyway. Before treatment my cognitive stuff was going and going fast. I had gotten to the point where it was hard to talk for many reasons: I couldn't remember what I was saying, I couldn't find words, and I would slur my words when I spoke. I really appeared intoxicated. Here is the part you aren't going to believe. If I ran that day, I would go about a mile, my words didn't slur. The slurring was so frustrating, that this kept me running almost everyday, and I could tell when I didn't go out.

I want to clarify that I never felt like the exercise was "increasing nerve growth factor". I felt more like it was moving the blood out of my stagnant little head. I just sort of decided that either my head was going to explode or I was going to feel better. Due to that logic, I don't know that I recommend this for all.

Something I never understood was that it was very hard for me to have enough breath to 'push' my words out. Forget about fighting with anyone or scolding anyone. But, I could run, I could breath to run. It doesn't make any sense to me.

I really think the NO stuff that Cheer has taught us is super important. I hope that everyone that is well enough to try to exercise does so as they feel is safe to see if it can make them feel a little better.

_________________
dx 4/09 * Stanford appointment 11/09/09 * One stent left, low jugular 11/10/09!<br />One year from treatment, I have my life back.  Placebo schmebo.

amazing!
i am not alone... same thing here: 20 minutes of walking OR 5 minutes of running in the evening makes me awake, no more fatique for that day...
lets move pwMS

alex

Wow so MS patients used to be told not to exercise, well that must be an old researcher as I have had MS for 25 years and exercise without overdoing it has been promoted as a good thing all those 25 years. I have noticed that the MS society keeps funding these silly lille projects. Amazing that ccsvi is so low on their research list.

Gee come on exercise makes everybody healthier MS or no MS and makes everybody feel better, nobrainer for the brain. I think most people have noticed that if they are about to fall asleep they can either take a nap or go for a brisk walk or similar and feel refreshed and us with MS often feel more refreshed after a bit of exercise than after a nap.

A good brisk walk clears up my blurry vision every time.