Contributions
Abstract: P1316
Type: Poster
Abstract Category: RIMS - Multi-disciplinary rehabilitation
Writing is a mean of communication which requires complex motor, perceptual and cognitive skills. If one of these abilities gets lost handwriting could deteriorate, as in the case of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). This deficit considerably interferes with daily life activities inducing a sense of frustration. Nonetheless, until now the scientific community did not examine in depth this aspect of MS disability, and the international literature dealing with this matter is limited to few studies. In Italy occupational therapy administered by Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society Rehabilitation Centers proposes, as part of rehabilitation programs, the recovery of writing. However, due to the low sample of scientific work at disposal, reliable quantitative data on the efficacy at behavioral level of this kind of interventions are lacking, as also it is not clear what are their effects on brain networks.
The present study is a part of a project granted by the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (grant N° 2014/R/5) and aims at defining an evaluation methodology that allows to quantitatively characterize the kinematics of handwriting movements and to evaluate their neural correlates. At present 15 PwMS (11 females, mean age±SD=44±10, mean EDSS±SD=3.37±1.59, 12 RR and 3 SP MS course) and 17 healthy age-matches controls (12 females, mean age±SD=38±12) participated in the study. PwMS underwent clinical evaluations and the evaluation of kinematics of the writing movements by means of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible tablet (E.M.S., S.r.l., Bologna). The participant was seated at a table and was required to write the Italian sentence “Il sole scalda” over the tablet. The duration, length and height of the sentence were considered as outcome parameters.
Results showed a significant increase of PwMS"s movement duration with respect to the controls. Movement duration negatively correlated with the Simbol Digit Modality Test and positively correlated with the Visual Analog Scale for self-perception of weakness. Sentence height increased significantly with the increasing of the grip and pinch force. These results suggested that both motor and cognitive deficits affected the writing performance. The next step of the project will evaluate the brain activity of handwriting during a functional MRI examination, which will provide insight concerning the motor and cognitive brain areas involved in the task.
Disclosure: Ambra Bisio: nothing to disclose
Ludovico Pedullà:nothing to disclose
Laura Bonzano: nothing to disclose
Piero Ruggeri: nothing to disclose
Giampaolo Brichetto: nothing to disclose
Marco Bove: nothing to disclose
Abstract: P1316
Type: Poster
Abstract Category: RIMS - Multi-disciplinary rehabilitation
Writing is a mean of communication which requires complex motor, perceptual and cognitive skills. If one of these abilities gets lost handwriting could deteriorate, as in the case of people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). This deficit considerably interferes with daily life activities inducing a sense of frustration. Nonetheless, until now the scientific community did not examine in depth this aspect of MS disability, and the international literature dealing with this matter is limited to few studies. In Italy occupational therapy administered by Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society Rehabilitation Centers proposes, as part of rehabilitation programs, the recovery of writing. However, due to the low sample of scientific work at disposal, reliable quantitative data on the efficacy at behavioral level of this kind of interventions are lacking, as also it is not clear what are their effects on brain networks.
The present study is a part of a project granted by the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (grant N° 2014/R/5) and aims at defining an evaluation methodology that allows to quantitatively characterize the kinematics of handwriting movements and to evaluate their neural correlates. At present 15 PwMS (11 females, mean age±SD=44±10, mean EDSS±SD=3.37±1.59, 12 RR and 3 SP MS course) and 17 healthy age-matches controls (12 females, mean age±SD=38±12) participated in the study. PwMS underwent clinical evaluations and the evaluation of kinematics of the writing movements by means of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatible tablet (E.M.S., S.r.l., Bologna). The participant was seated at a table and was required to write the Italian sentence “Il sole scalda” over the tablet. The duration, length and height of the sentence were considered as outcome parameters.
Results showed a significant increase of PwMS"s movement duration with respect to the controls. Movement duration negatively correlated with the Simbol Digit Modality Test and positively correlated with the Visual Analog Scale for self-perception of weakness. Sentence height increased significantly with the increasing of the grip and pinch force. These results suggested that both motor and cognitive deficits affected the writing performance. The next step of the project will evaluate the brain activity of handwriting during a functional MRI examination, which will provide insight concerning the motor and cognitive brain areas involved in the task.
Disclosure: Ambra Bisio: nothing to disclose
Ludovico Pedullà:nothing to disclose
Laura Bonzano: nothing to disclose
Piero Ruggeri: nothing to disclose
Giampaolo Brichetto: nothing to disclose
Marco Bove: nothing to disclose