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Dalfampridine to Improve Balance in Multiple Sclerosis: Substudy from a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT: This was a substudy of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial originally designed to explore the effect of dalfampridine on information processing speed (2013-002558-64 EU Clinical Trials Register) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 120 patients were originally randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive dalfampridine 10 mg or placebo twice daily for 12 weeks. Here, we sought to explore the effect of dalfampridine on static balance in single-task and dual-task conditions in a subgroup of 41 patients. They underwent static posturography in quiet standing (single-task) and while performing the Stroop test (dual-task) at randomization (baseline), after 12 weeks and after a 4-week wash-out period. Baseline characteristics of active group (n = 27) did not differ from those of placebo group (n = 14). Dalfampridine treatment was associated with better balance control than placebo in both single-task (F = 4.80, p = 0.034) and dual-task (F = 6.42, p = 0.015) conditions, with small-to-moderate effect sizes (Cohen's f² = 0.122-0.162). The beneficial effect of dalfampridine was not retained 4 weeks after its discontinuation. The rate of accidental falls per month did not differ between the two groups (p = 0.12). Our preliminary findings suggest that dalfampridine can be considered a potential option to treat balance impairment due to MS. Larger sample sizes are needed to verify if the beneficial effect of dalfampridine on balance can be translated into a reduced risk of accidental falls.

SUBMITTER: Prosperini L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7283428 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dalfampridine to Improve Balance in Multiple Sclerosis: Substudy from a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Prosperini Luca L Castelli Letizia L De Giglio Laura L Bonanno Valeria V Gasperini Claudio C Pozzilli Carlo C

Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics 20200401 2

This was a substudy of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial originally designed to explore the effect of dalfampridine on information processing speed (2013-002558-64 EU Clinical Trials Register) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 120 patients were originally randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive dalfampridine 10 mg or placebo twice daily for 12 weeks. Here, we sought to explore the effect of dalfampridine on static balance in single-task and dual-task conditions ...[more]

PMID: 31820274

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Dataset Information

Dalfampridine to Improve Balance in Multiple Sclerosis: Substudy from a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Publications

Dalfampridine to Improve Balance in Multiple Sclerosis: Substudy from a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.

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