Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2006 Sep;77(9):1030-5.
doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2005.086280. Epub 2006 May 30.

Multimodal evoked potentials to assess the evolution of multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study

L Leocani  1 , M Rovaris, F M Boneschi, S Medaglini, P Rossi, V Martinelli, S Amadio, G Comi
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Multimodal evoked potentials to assess the evolution of multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study

L Leocani et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2006 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Evoked potentials are used in the functional assessment of sensory and motor pathways. Their usefulness in monitoring the evolution of multiple sclerosis has not been fully clarified.

Objective: The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the usefulness of multimodal evoked potential in predicting paraclinical outcomes of disease severity and as a prognostic marker in multiple sclerosis.

Methods: Eighty four patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis underwent Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and functional system scoring at study entry and after a mean (standard deviation) follow-up of 30.5 (11.7) months. Sensory and motor evoked potentials were obtained in all patients at study entry and at follow-up in 64 of them, and quantified according to a conventional score.

Results: Cross-sectionally, the severity of each evoked potential score significantly correlated with the corresponding functional system (0.32 < R < 0.60, p < 0.01, for all but follow-up visual evoked potential) and with EDSS (0.34 < R < 0.61; p < 0.001 for all but brain stem evoked potential). EDSS significantly correlated with global evoked potential score severity (baseline R = 0.60, follow-up R = 0.46, p < 0.001). Using longitudinal analysis, only changes in somatosensory evoked potential scores were significantly correlated with changes of sensory functional system (R = 0.34, p = 0.006). However, patients with multiple sclerosis with disability progression at follow-up had more severe baseline evoked potential scores than patients who remained stable. Patients with severe baseline global evoked potential score (higher than the median value) had a risk of 72.5% to progress on disability at follow-up, whereas patients with multiple sclerosis with lower scores had a risk of only 36.3%.

Conclusions: These results suggest that evoked potential is a good marker of the severity of nervous damage in multiple sclerosis and may have a predictive value regarding the evolution of disability.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Comi G, Locatelli T, Leocani L.et al Can evoked potentials be useful in monitoring multiple sclerosis evolution? Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol Suppl 199950349–357. - PubMed
    1. Trapp B D, Peterson J, Ransohoff R M.et al Axonal transection in the lesions of multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med 1998338278–285. - PubMed
    1. Bitsch A, Schuchardt J, Bunkowski S.et al Acute axonal injury in multiple sclerosis. Correlation with demyelination and inflammation. Brain 20001231174–1183. - PubMed
    1. McDonald W I, Sears T A. The effects of experimental demyelination on conduction in the central nervous system. Brain 197093583–598. - PubMed
    1. McDonald W, Compston D, Edan G.et al Recommended diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines from the international panel on the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Ann Neurol 200150121–127. - PubMed

Publication types