Recently, MSAA published an article highlighting the vital information presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). This article, now available on MSAA’s website, features a large collection of research summaries, which provide a quick overview of the results of several important studies in the treatment of MS.
Topics featured in this article include:
- Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in research pipeline
- Long-term efficacy, safety, and comparative analysis of approved DMTs
- Wellness strategies, laughter therapy, and reproductive-health topics, including information on exercise, symptom management, pregnancy, and more
Read an excerpt on laughter therapy here:
Researchers at Evergreen Health in Kirkland, Washington, conducted a prospective, open trial of laughter therapy (LT) for 31 participants: 17 with MS, eight with Parkinson’s disease, two with spinal cord injury, and the remainder with other disorders of the central nervous system.
After participating in eight, 60-minute laughter therapy classes taught by a certified LT instructor (yes, there is such a thing), participants who completed the course saw an improvement from baseline in their scores on a measure of depression. Scores on a separate measure of anxiety essentially were unchanged from baseline.
“Our findings show that LT may reduce depression and be administered across a variety of neurological deficits, including for people with limited exercise options due to severe disability,” the researchers noted.
Read about more research highlights presented at this year’s AAN and CMSC Annual Meetings at mymsaa.org!
