Recent MS Grant Brings Foundation Total to $4,600,000 for 2009

Helen Genova, PhD, John DeLuca, PhD, and Glenn Wylie, PhD, received a Multiple Sclerosis Grant Award to develop a method of measuring cognitive fatigue in individuals wit Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Thi

November 4, 2009

 Investigators Examine Cognitive Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis Using fMRI

Helen Genova, PhD, and colleagues, Drs. John DeLuca and Glenn Wylie, were awarded a Multiple Sclerosis Grant Award to develop a method of measuring cognitive fatigue in individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This award, which is valued at $344,000 over a three-year period, brings Kessler Foundation's total awards for the year to $4,600,000.

These investigators will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to pinpoint activity in regions of the brain during performance of cognitively fatiguing tasks, and correlate the brain activity with levels of cognitive fatigue reported by individuals with MS and healthy controls. The study will utilize two cognitively fatiguing tasks, modified versions of the Symbol Digit Modalities Task, and the PASAT. In addition, the investigators will utilize Diffusion Tensor Imaging to examine the relationship between neuronal damage and cognitive fatigue. This project's aim is to develop a new way to measure cognitive fatigue, which would be very useful in clinical evaluations of people with MS and in assessing the effectiveness of MS treatments in clinical trials