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Robotic Exoskeleton Exercise Improves Walking Ability and Thinking Speed in Small Society-Funded Study

June 1, 2021

A four-week exercise/rehabilitation program using a wearable robotic “exoskeleton” improved walking ability, information processing speed, and brain connectivity (how parts of the brain interact with one another) significantly more than standard walking rehabilitation in a small study of ten people with MS who had walking problems. A robotic exoskeleton allows people to walk over ground in close engagement with a rehabilitation therapist. Further study in larger numbers of people is needed to confirm these findings. This study was partly funded by the National MS Society.

"A pilot randomized controlled trial of robotic exoskeleton-assisted exercise rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis," by Drs. Ghaith J. Androwis, John DeLuca, and colleagues, was published on April 4, 2021 in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, and can be read without subscription.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis, and there is currently no cure for MS. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are leading to better understanding and moving us closer to a world free of MS. An estimated 1 million people live with MS in the United States. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, and it affects women three times more than men.

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