Prolonged-Release Fampridine as Adjunct Therapy to Active Motor Training in MS Patients: A Pilot, Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

BACKGROUND: Both prolonged-release fampridine (PRF) and enabling active motor training (EAMT) are beneficial in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Their combined effect is, however, understudied. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to determine if PRF augments the beneficial effect of EAMT in MS patients as opposed to placebo. METHOD: This is a pilot, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind 14-week study. Participants were randomly assigned to receive PRF 10 mg BID (n = 21) or placebo (n = 20). All patients underwent EAMT during the first six weeks. Patients were assessed at –4, 0, 6 and 14 weeks. RESULTS: Both groups remained stable between –4 to 0 weeks and showed statistically significant improvements for the six-minute walk and the five-times-sit-to-stand test at weeks 6 and 14. The PRF-treated group achieved a greater mean percentage improvement and a higher incidence of responders in all three tasks at both time points. The study was, however, underpowered to reach statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Our results confirm previous studies demonstrating that MS patients, despite significant disability, do benefit from a rehabilitation program. Our study is the first to show a trend suggesting that PRF in MS patients appears to enhance the benefit of EAMT. Further studies are required to confirm this. Clinical trial registration number with Clinicaltrial.gov: NCT02146534