BACKGROUND Spasticity is a common and poorly controlled symptom of multiple sclerosis. Our objective was to determine the short-term effect of smoked cannabis on this symptom. METHODS We conducted a placebo-controlled, crossover trial involving adult patients with multiple sclerosis and spasticity. We recruited participants from a regional clinic or by referral from specialists. We randomly a...

BACKGROUND In the clinical setting, the dispersed practitioners' attention often leads to decreased competence in their performance. We aimed to investigate the effect of distracted practitioners on the quality of chest compression during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. METHODS A randomized controlled crossover simulation study was conducted. Participants were recruited from among doctors, nur...

The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) is a cognitive task purported to measure working memory, speed of information processing, and sustained and divided attention (Spreen, O. & Strauss, E. (1998). A compendium of neuropsychological tests: administration, norms, and commentary (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.) The current study examined whether treating late responses...

The thalamus plays a crucial role in sensorimotor, cognitive, and attentional circuit functions. Disruptions in thalamic connectivity are believed to underlie the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Therefore, assessing thalamocortical structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) may provide new insights into the mechanism of intrinsic functional plasticity in a large-scale ne...

OBJECTIVE To compare the cognitive performance of subjects with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and healthy controls. All subjects were matched for age, education, and verbal intelligence, as previous neuropsychological studies of CFS had not used appropriate control groups. DESIGN Case-control design. All subjects were given a neuropsychological battery and the test ...

Cognitive abnormalities have been extensively studied in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, little is known about the cognitive involvement in patients with Clinically Isolated Syndrome (CIS). Objective This study aimed to investigate cognitive impairment in patients with CIS compared with healthy subjects. Methods 18 CIS patients and 18 controls were subjected to the Wechsler memory scale, ...

OBJECTIVE There is increasing evidence that altered glutamate (Glu) homeostasis is involved in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo effects of excess brain Glu on neuroaxonal integrity measured by N-acetylaspartate (NAA), brain volume, and clinical outcomes in a large, prospectively followed cohort of MS subjects. METHODS We used mu...

This study aims at assessing an online portal where patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) can carry on memory and attention exercises outside clinic premises. The training took place in a VR setup where one TBI patient had to complete a set of 10 online VR sessions. The neuropsychological evaluation was carried out with the PASAT (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task) at pre, during and aft...

Objectives. To examine relationships between conventional MRI measures and the paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT) and symbol digit modalities test (SDMT). Methods. A systematic literature review was conducted. Included studies had ≥30 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, administered the SDMT or PASAT, and measured T2LV or brain atrophy. Meta-analysis of MRI/information processing speed (...

Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) significantly improves heart rate variability (HRV). Breathing at resonance frequency (RF, approximately 6 breaths/min) constitutes a key part of HRVB training and is hypothesized to be a pathway through which biofeedback improves HRV. No studies to date, however, have experimentally examined whether RF breathing impacts measures of HRV. The present stu...