| Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a permanent and progressive neurological disease. Heat can exacerbate symptoms of MS while cold provides symptomatic relief. Since the head area is particularity sensitive to cold, we investigated the effects of cooling the head and neck for 60 minutes on symptoms of MS. Four ambulatory heat sensitive females visited the clinic 3 times to evaluate ambulation, visual acuity, muscle strength, pain and fatigue after either 60 minutes of true, sham or no cooling. Rectal and skin temperature, heart rate, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort were measured throughout. Sham cooling was achieved as thermal sensation did not differ between cooling conditions. Compared to the no cooling condition true cooling significantly decreased core temperature by 0.37°C (p=0.02). True cooling improved the 6-minute walk test (p=0.01) compared to the sham cooling group, and visual acuity at 1.25% contrast (right eye) was improved (p=0.04) compared to sham and no cooling. |
