FAst Takes - Neuroprotective effects of exercise for multiple sclerosis warrant thorough investigation-Ep43
KesslerFoundation.org

JOAN BANKS-SMITH: 00:04
I'm your host, Joan Bank Smith, and this is Kessler Foundation's Fast Takes, research
that changes lives. In this episode, Dr. Brian Sandroff, senior research scientist in our
Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research, talks about his peer-reviewed article, Exercise Training and Multiple Sclerosis, published in April 2022 in a
journal, The Lancet Neurology. Dr. Sandroff, can you share with us the main
takeaways of this study?

BRIAN SANDROFF: 00:34
This commentary highlights several different meta-analyses and systematic reviews
that have been published within the last couple of months that generates sweeping
conclusions based on a small but growing number of rather poorly designed
randomized controlled trials. And this wasn't a research study per se, but more of a
commentary. And we wanted to publish this quickly, considering that the poorly
designed trials are being published at an increasing rate and are at risk of becoming
the status quo. And the commentary itself was aimed to inspire a paradigm shift as
soon as possible, as the commentary articulates that the field won't advance with
studies that are poorly designed for appropriately evaluating the impact of exercise
on neuroplasticity and neuroprotection, in particular, in persons with MS.

BANKS-SMITH: 01:23 What is the impact and next implications of this publication to the field?

SANDROFF: 01:27 Our hope is that this will help the next crop of research studies to make better
evaluations in exercise as a possible neuroplasticity or neuroprotection-inducing
behavior. And that involves things from choosing the appropriate duration of
exercise, making stronger hypotheses as to why exercise might impact the brain in
people with MS, as well as not relying so heavily on whole-brain MRI metrics, and
really focusing on regions of interest that would be hypothesized to change in
response to exercise, and perhaps more importantly, choosing the appropriate
sample that would be targeted for having damage to the central nervous system so
that exercise might make a larger impact in people with MS, and we can learn more
and make a larger impact on clinical practice and patients themselves.

BANKS-SMITH: 02:32 Learn more about Dr. Sandroff, the Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience
Research, and his peer-reviewed article in the program notes. Tuned into our podcast
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Listen to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you get your
podcasts. This podcast was recorded remotely on May 4, 2022, and was edited and
produced by Joan Bank Smith, creative producer for Kessler Foundation.