An American study at the Kessler Foundation in New Jersey suggests that warmer temperatures may reduce the ability of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to carry out mental tasks and process information.
The researchers found a link between outdoor temperature and levels of brain activity. Patients showed an unusual increase in brain activity that was not seen in healthy people. The increase occurred in areas of the brain responsible for simple tasks, the frontal, dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortex, suggesting that the brain had to work harder to perform normally.
The study involved 28 people (26 women and two men). Their thinking slowed on tasks requiring attention when the temperature rose. No such link was found in the healthy control group.
The study was published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior and listed on PubMed on 23 November 2013.
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease that attacks myelin in the brain. Myelin wraps nerve fibres and acts like the electrical insulation around wires. When it is lost, various neurological symptoms appear, usually in attacks. Patients are usually between 20 and 50 years old, and women are affected twice as often as men.
The researchers recommend cooling the body before exercise, wearing well-ventilated hats and always using air conditioning.
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