Stress Management May Prevent MS Brain Lesions

Multiple Sclerosis Patients Had Fewer New Brain Lesions During Treatment

July 11, 2012 -- Teaching MS patients how to deal with stress can improve their quality of life -- and may also prevent or slow down formation of new brain lesions, according to a new study.

Patients with multiple sclerosis who attended stress management therapy sessions for six months had fewer new brain lesions from disease flare-ups and slower disease progression during their treatment, Northwestern University researcher David C. Mohr, PhD, and colleagues found.

The findings, published in the July 11 issue of the journal Neurology, add to evidence that stress management can slow MS disease activity.

"People who got the stress management training had significant reductions in the incidence of new brain lesions while enrolled in the weekly sessions," Mohr tells WebMD.

But the improvement disappeared when the weekly sessions ended, suggesting that more sustained therapy may be needed, he says.

Mohr says stress management therapy may be a useful addition to MS drugs. He has spent more than a decade researching the impact of depression and stress on MS progression.

The new study included 121 MS patients randomly assigned either to a stress management treatment group or to a group that got no stress management training.

The treatment group received 16 sessions delivered over a six-month period. Sessions focused on helping patients recognize and evaluate potentially stressful situations. They were also taught relaxation and meditation techniques to help them cope with stressful events that could not be avoided.

While the therapy sessions were under way, and for six months after the sessions ended, brain imaging was performed to identify new lesions associated with MS. The absence of new brain lesions is an important indication that an MS treatment is working.

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Stress Management May Prevent MS Brain Lesions