Identifying Cerebral Pathways in MS Tremor
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common non-traumatic central nervous system (CNS) disorder of young adults, affecting over 2.5 million persons worldwide. Tremor in MS is a common and disabling symptom affecting 26% to 58% of people with MS that can significantly impact their quality of life. Several therapies have been attempted in treating MS tremor, though often with only minimal or mixed results. One major reason for lackluster benefits from therapies is that, to date, the precise pathways involved in MS-related tremor are poorly understood. This application addresses the FY18 MSRP Exploration - Hypothesis Development Award focus area pertaining to biology and measurements of MS symptoms. Our aim is to characterize and quantify MS-related tremor and relate differences to dysfunction of unique brain pathways. To determine the biology and measurement of MS symptoms, thirty MS patients with tremor and ten age-matched MS patients without tremor will be recruited from our large outpatient MS clinic, and tremor severity will be quantitated by a neurologist subspecializing in movement disorders, using a validated 10-item tremor scale. Patients will obtain advanced brain imaging using diffusion tensor scans to identify involved tracts, and correlations between clinical severity score and damaged brain pathways will be determined. In addition, damaged pathways related to MS tremor will be followed over 1 year to determine change related to changing tremor severity. We anticipate that this research will benefit relapsing and progressive MS patients who suffer from tremor related to disease. For the first time, the proposed project will systematically define damaged pathways involved in causing MS-related tremor. The risks to the patient population being studied is minimal as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a safe technology and gadolinium contrast material will not be used. We anticipate that this study will be completed in 2 years. While a tremor-specific therapy is not proposed in this study, we expect to determine the brain pathways involved in MS-related tremor. Without a better understanding of the mechanisms of MS tremor, development of novel and improved treatment options for the nearly 50% of MS patients with disabling tremor is unlikely to succeed. The results of this study are expected in the long term to lead to more targeted therapies for MS-related tremor.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 16, 2019
- Source ID
- W81XWH1910391
Entities
People
- John Lincoln
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston