Affiliations: [a] Universitäres Kompetenzzentrum für Sport-und Bewegungsmedizin (Athleticum), Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| [b] Institut und Poliklinik für Medizinische Psychologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| [c] Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| [d] Institut für Neuroimmunologie und Multiple Sklerose (INIMS), Zentrum für Molekulare Neurobiologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| [e] Charité Universitätsmedizin, Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| [f] Abteilung für Medizinische Onkologie, Nationales Centrum für Tumorerkrankungen (NCT), Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Schulz, Institute for Medical Psychology, University Hospital Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52 W26, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. Tel.: +49 40741054132; Fax: +49 40741054965; E-mail: khschulz@uke.de.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:The peak blood lactate response to an exhaustive exercise test in a number of chronic conditions has been shown to differ from that seen in healthy, untrained individuals. However, this has not been investigated for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE:The main objective was to determine and compare the peak blood lactate response to exercise and the maximal workload between two groups of MS patients with different illness severity. METHODS:Twenty-five patients with a relapsing-remitting disease course (Group RR) and 41 patients with a secondary- or primary chronic progressive disease course (group CP) performed an exhaustive incremental bicycle ergometry. Peak blood lactate, maximal workload, peak oxygen consumption and maximal heart rate were measured. RESULTS:The peak blood lactate levels and maximal workload differed significantly between the groups (group CP < group RR; p < 0.001). Furthermore spiroergometric peak performance markers in both groups were significantly lower than predicted for healthy age and sex matched untrained groups. CONCLUSION:A reduced peak blood lactate response to exercise is a novel finding for MS patients. This calls into doubt if the lactate performance tests and lactate thresholds used for healthy individuals can be transferred to MS patients.
