An Update on the Measurement of Motor Cerebellar Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis

Katherine Hope Kenyon; Frederique Boonstra; Gustavo Noffs; Helmut Butzkueven; Adam P Vogel; Scott Kolbe; Anneke van der Walt

doi:10.1007/s12311-022-01435-y

An Update on the Measurement of Motor Cerebellar Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis

Cerebellum. 2023 Aug;22(4):761-775. doi: 10.1007/s12311-022-01435-y. Epub 2022 Jun 27.

Authors

Katherine Hope Kenyon^{1

2}, Frederique Boonstra³, Gustavo Noffs^{3

4

5

6}, Helmut Butzkueven³, Adam P Vogel^{4

6

7

8}, Scott Kolbe^{3

9}, Anneke van der Walt^{3

5

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. katherine.kenyon@monash.edu.
² Centre for Neuroscience of Speech, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. katherine.kenyon@monash.edu.
³ Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Neuroscience of Speech, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁵ Department of Neurology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁶ Redenlab Inc, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁷ Division of Translational Genomics of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Germany & Center for Neurology, University Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
⁸ The Bionics Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁹ Department of Medicine and Radiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease that often affects the cerebellum. It is characterised by demyelination, inflammation, and neurodegeneration within the central nervous system. Damage to the cerebellum in MS is associated with increased disability and decreased quality of life. Symptoms include gait and balance problems, motor speech disorder, upper limb dysfunction, and oculomotor difficulties. Monitoring symptoms is crucial for effective management of MS. A combination of clinical, neuroimaging, and task-based measures is generally used to diagnose and monitor MS. This paper reviews the present and new tools used by clinicians and researchers to assess cerebellar impairment in people with MS (pwMS). It also describes recent advances in digital and home-based monitoring for people with MS.

Keywords: Acoustic speech analysis; Cerebellum; Home-based monitoring; Multiple sclerosis; Neuroimaging.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Cerebellar Diseases*
Cerebellum / diagnostic imaging
Gait
Humans
Multiple Sclerosis* / complications
Multiple Sclerosis* / diagnostic imaging
Quality of Life