The reliability of objective fatigue measures in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Olmo, Gabriella; Francesca, Farolfi; Federica, Miola; Stefano, Giorgi; Francesca, Sperli; Alessia Di Sapio,; Antonio, Bertolotto

doi:10.1016/j.bspc.2019.101696

PORTO @ Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca

IRIS è la soluzione IT che facilita la raccolta e la gestione dei dati relativi alle attività e ai prodotti della ricerca. Fornisce a ricercatori, amministratori e valutatori gli strumenti per monitorare i risultati della ricerca, aumentarne la visibilità e allocare in modo efficace le risorse disponibili.

Fatigue is one of the most distressing symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, impairing quality of life, work performance and social interactions. Moreover, it is difficult to objectively assess, and is often evaluated via subjective questionnaire; however, objective metrics are highly desirable. Objective of this paper is to implement a differential fatigue measure based on evoked potentials, and assess its reliability and coherence with walking tests and subjective questionnaires. Method: the Regional Multiple Sclerosis Reference Centre, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Italy, is carrying out tests in order to assess the effectiveness of 4- amino-pyridine for fatigue relief. This work takes as input evoked potential waveforms and implements an algorithm to perform suitable signal processing and provide a fatigue index and a related reliability metric. This information is put in relationship with the walking test results and the subjective fatigue scores. Preliminary results reveal that fatigue measures based on evoked potentials, subject to proper data processing, are not always coherent with subjective ques- tionnaires and walking tests. This may be due to the fact that fatigue cannot be reduced to a mere muscular/conduction problem, and the walking tests are heavily conditioned by the disability degree. Moreover, the reliability of such measures carries not trivial information that should be carefully considered. As a conclusion, evoked potentials and gait analysis represent a good comple- ment of subjective questionnaires as for fatigue assessment. The significance of our work lies in the fact that reliable fatigue measures can help improving the patients' quality of life, allowing assessment of the therapy effectiveness and posology.

Titolo:	The reliability of objective fatigue measures in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Autori:	OLMO, Gabriella Francesca Farolfi Federica Miola Stefano Giorgi Francesca Sperli Alessia Di Sapio Antonio Bertolotto mostra contributor esterni nascondi contributor esterni
Data di pubblicazione:	2019
Rivista:	BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.bspc.2019.101696
Appare nelle tipologie:	1.1 Articolo in rivista

File in questo prodotto:

File	Descrizione	Tipologia	Licenza
main_journal.pdf		2. Post-print		Embargo: 22/10/2021 Richiedi una copia
1-s2.0-S1746809419302770-main.pdf		2a. Post-print Versione editoriale	Non Pubblico - Accesso privato/ristretto	Administrator Richiedi una copia

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento:
http://hdl.handle.net/11583/2759763

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.