Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients can slow down the deterioration of their brains and damage from the disease if they exercise, according to a new study now online in the journal Brain Research.

Aerobic fitness created by health and exercise protects parts of the brain most affected by MS, according to Ruchika Shaurya Prakash from Ohio State University, lead author of the study.

Not only did aerobically fit MS patients score better on cognitive tests, they also had more vital gray matter in their brains than MS patients who did not exercise.

Previous research has shown that diet, health and exercise promotes proteins that help neurons in the brain grow. However, many patients have been told not to exercise because it worsens the symptoms of MS.

What Did the Study of Multiple Sclerosis Patients Measure?
Researchers studied and measured fitness, cognitive function, and structural changes of the brain, comparing 21 women diagnosed with MS with 15 healthy women of the same age and education levels.

Fitness, which is a function of diet, health and exercise, was measured by a VO2 max test. This involved MS patients and members of the comparison group riding stationary bicycles as long as possible while breathing into a mask that measured their oxygen consumption.

After measuring fitness, cognitive function was measured in a variety of ways. Researchers focused on the speed of the brain processing information, as well as the ability of patients to focus their attention.

Structural changes of the brain were researched by giving MRI's to all participants. MS patients showed more brain damage than those in the control group.

However, those MS patients who were physically fit had smaller and significantly fewer lesions, which are characteristics of MS. In addition, MS patients who exercised had less damaged brain tissue, which affects brain processing skills.

Prakash and her colleagues plan to extend this research by studying whether exercise interventions with MS patients can actually improve their cognition and have positive physical effects on the brain.