Editor's Choice Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis Also Included In: Anxiety / Stress Article Date: 13 Jul 2012 - 9:00 PDT

Current ratings for: Multiple Sclerosis Patients Could `Benefit From Stress Management

3.75 (4 votes)

The study, published online in the medical journal Neurology, involved 121 people with MS.

The researchers assigned 50% of the study participants to receive the stress management program, while the remaining participants were put on a waiting list as a control group.

Over a 5-6 month period, participants assigned to the program had 16 50-minute sessions with a therapist. During each session, patients learned about relaxation, problem-solving skills, improving their social support and increasing positive activities. In addition, patients were given the choice of addition sessions on topics, such as insomnia treatment, fatigue management, pain management, and anxiety reduction. Patients received follow-up for up to six months. Patients in the control group attended a five-hour workshop on stress management.

The researchers found that 77% of participants assigned to the stress management program did not develop new lesions, or brain damage that indicates disease activity, versus 55% of patients assigned to the control group.

David C. Mohr, Ph.D., of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, explained:

Furthermore, the team found that participants receiving training had lower stress levels than patients in the control group, although the positive effects of the program diminished following the treatment period.

Mohr said:

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Multiple Sclerosis Patients Could `Benefit From Stress Management