The Role of Fampridine in the Symptomatic Treatment of Gait Impairment in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, the treatment of which remains a great challenge for modern medicine. An important part of it, apart from the treatment slowing down the process of demyelination, is the symptomatic treatment of sphincteral disorders, spasticity, muscle weakness, visual disturbances, mood, depression and gait impairment, which have been carried out with the use of fampridine for a short time. Materials and Methods: The study uses the method of literature analysis in the form of full English-language articles available in the PubMed and Google Scholar database describing the assessment of the effectiveness of fampridine in the symptomatic treatment of gait impairment in MS patients. Results: In each of the studies cited, the ability to walk is indicated in patients taking fampridine compared to placebo. An improvement in walking speed, distance and physical activity is observed. The gait pattern changes. In addition, there is a lack of efficacy of 5 mg dalfampridine ER, with a significant effect on the dose rate of 10 mg. After 2 weeks of discontinuation, the improvement is reversed. Conclusion: A significant effect of fampridine in a dose of 10 mg on improvement of walking in patients with MS is observed. However, it seems necessary for the therapy to be carried out without interruption.