title: Verbal Fluencies and Fampridine Treatment in Multiple Sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Fampridine is sometimes reported to improve cognition and especially the information-processing speed. Motor improvement might be a confounding factor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of fampridine on verbal fluencies in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty MS patients were included in a prospective monocentric open label trial with a mean Expanded Disability Status Scale of 5.3 ± 1.1. Assessments of verbal phonological and semantic fluencies were repeated twice (within 1 week) before fampridine treatment and twice after fampridine treatment in order to have the maximal practice effect. Gait velocity and fatigue (visual analogical scale) were also assessed. Distribution into gait responders, gait non-responders, fluency responders and fluency non-responders, was described.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Verbal fluencies were significantly higher after fampridine treatment. No correlation was observed between phonological fluency improvement and semantic fluency improvement. Gait responders and gait non-responders did not present significant differences in verbal fluency performance and fatigue score. No correlation between gait velocity improvement and fatigue improvement compared with verbal fluency improvement was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that fampridine could have a selective procognitive effect on phonological fluency in MS, even in the gait non-responder patients.
authors.affiliation: Regional Memory Centre (CMRR), Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Besanx00E7;on, Besanx00E7;on, France.
authors.forename: Eloi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Magnin
authors.forename: Yoshimasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sagawa
authors.forename: Ludivine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chamard
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moulin
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Decavel
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D020235:Gait Apraxia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D015761:4-Aminopyridine