HHS HealthBeat (May 21, 2010)

Thinking, exercise and multiple sclerosis

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Being physically active without overdoing it can help ease some symptoms of multiple sclerosis. And one researcher has found indications that MS patients who are more fit also are better able to think.

At Ohio State University, Ruchika Shaurya Prakash looked at 21 women with the nervous system disease. The women took an exercise test to measure how fit they were. And they did mental tests to see how quickly they could think – for instance, how many words they could name in a minute that began with the letter ``s.’’

"What we found was that higher-fit MS participants actually showed much better performance on tasks of processing speed." (7 seconds)

The study in the journal Brain Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: November 21, 2011