Stress management therapy effectively prevents MS brain lesions

For those suffering from the autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis, life alternates between almost symptomless periods of time and episodes of intense neurological problems that can result in anything from painful muscle spasms, loss of vision or problems moving arms and legs.

These flare-ups are often preceded by brain lesions, scars that form in the nervous system and destroy myelin sheath material that surrounds neurons responsible for carrying electrical signals. By managing the development of these scars, patients with MS can keep better control their episodes.

And now, new research has shown that a weekly stress management program was very effective in preventing the development of new lesions, pointing toward possibly supplemental therapy that could be used with existing MS treatments.

The study, published in an issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, is part of ongoing research from principal investigator David Mohr, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg. A previous study of Mohrs involved following MS patients receiving MRIs and the stressful events in their lives; stress was found to be a good predictor of the development of brain lesions.

MRIs track development of lesions

Weve been able to show [with previous research] that stress is related to the development of new lesions and exacerbations of MS, Mohr told FoxNews.com. We ended up getting funded by the NIH (National Institutes of Health) to conduct a trial for the stress management program. Its important to mention this trial was designed very much like a Phase II pharmaceutical trial. So we used the same kind of imaging markers commonly used by pharmaceutical companies and by the FDA, and a lot of the methodology was similar.

According to Mohr, these most recent findings are the first to show that counseling and psychotherapy affect brain lesion development. The study, conducted over a 24-week period, randomly assigned 121 MS patients to one of two groups half receiving stress management therapy in 16 sessions and the others assigned to a control group.

The stress management involved helping patients to identify stressors and what they can do to address stressful situations.

When people get stressed, they overestimate the stress and underestimate the ability to manage it, Mohr said. So we help them with the appraisal is it that bad, and are they that helpless? If they are having a problem, rather than become completely stressed out, we see if theres a way to manage the problems theyre having. We also show them how to manage the physiological response, developing ways of using breath and breathing to reduce the physiological stress response. Teaching them how to apply that to various situations in their lives.

The researchers tracked the development of the patients lesions by giving them MRIs every two months. The imaging helped to show if inflammation in the brain had occurred.

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Stress management therapy effectively prevents MS brain lesions