Ischemic Preconditioning, exercise tolerance and Multiple Sclerosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effect of Ischemic Preconditioning on exercise tolerance in people with Multiple Sclerosis: A feasibility study
IRAS ID
224422
Contact name
Siva Nair
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Regular physical activity improves aspects such as physical fitness, fatigue, quality of life, gait and also reduces the rate of progression of disability in individuals with Multiple Sclerosis. However, individuals with multiple sclerosis are less physically active than the general population. The determinants of engaging in physical activity for individuals with multiple sclerosis include psychological factors like motivation, self-belief and self-regulatory constructs and physical factors like fatigue, weakness, pain and ataxia.
Ischemic preconditioning is exposure of the body to brief periods of circulatory occlusion and reperfusion to protect organs against ischaemic injury. Recent studies have also shown that ischemic preconditioning also improves exercise performance in healthy participants.
The primary aim and objective of this study is to see whether it is feasible to use Ischemic preconditioning to improve exercise performance in people with Multiple Sclerosis.
The design for the study is a double blind randomised control trial. Forty patients with multiple sclerosis above 18 years of age and who have the ability to walk will be randomised to receive either Ischemic preconditioning or sham intervention. All participants will be identified by MS consultants and nurses from the MS clinic and Neuro Day Case Unit of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield. Participation will involve an additional 2 hours of the patients time.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
17/NS/0020
Date of REC Opinion
14 Mar 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion