Abstract
Local cooling is often used to obtain temporary reduction of spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Even if it results in rather small decrements of body temperature, generalized cooling may improve muscle strength, visual acuity, sensory disturbances, articulation, and swallowing. A cooling suit now commercially available offers an opportunity to decrease body temperature in a feasible way.
We studied 14 ambulatory and 6 wheelchair-dependent MS patients together with 8 healthy controls in various tests of motor function and mental speed. After cooling, 10 out of 14 ambulatory patients and all 6 wheelchair patients were improved in at least one motor test. The subjective judgments of patients were in accordance with the functional outcome. In the two MS groups but not in the control group, the number of tests showing improvement in motor function was significantly separated from the results expected by chance.
Wearing the cooling suit for 40–45 minutes was easy to perform for both patients and controls, and the cooling effect was tolerable for all of them.