Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41888461›Full record

ArticleNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2026

Motor fatigue and fatigability in early multiple sclerosis patients: an analysis of clinical, radiological and psychological underpinnings.

Matteo Betti, C Masciulli, I Addazio, C Ballerini, R Bonacchi, A Caporali, F Chiappetta, E De Meo, C Fabbiani, F Gerli and 11 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Matteo BettiDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy. matteo.betti@unifi.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6621-3971
C MasciulliDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
I AddazioDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
C BalleriniDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
R BonacchiVita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
A CaporaliDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
F ChiappettaDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
E De MeoDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
C FabbianiNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences Mario Serio, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
F GerliIRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Florence, Italy.
U KihlbomCenter for research and bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
C NiccolaiIRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Florence, Italy.
G PasquiniIRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Florence, Italy.
L PastòDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
V PenatiDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
K Scholin BywallCenter for research and bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Jennifer Viberg JohanssonCenter for research and bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
E FainardiNeuroradiology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences Mario Serio, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
S MartinCenter for research and bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
E PortaccioDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.
M P AmatoDepartment of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Viale Gaetano Pieraccini, 6, Florence, 50139, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile fatigue is highly reported in newly diagnosed people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) and motor fatigability is reported in about 20% of non-disabled patients, relationship among them in early MS has been less studied.

objectiveTo evaluate correlations between fatigue and motor fatigability in early pwMS, and their clinical, radiological, psychological underpinnings.

methodsRelapsing pwMS aged 18-65 years, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score <2.0, disease duration <5 years were recruited. PwMS underwent clinical, cognitive, radiological assessment. They performed a 6-minute-walking-test; fatigability was calculated as the ratio of distance walked in the final minute to the first minute (distance walking index, DWI6−1). Fatigue was evaluated through the Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS). Spearman ρ examined the relationship among variables; linear regression analyses examined predictors of fatigue and fatigability.

results70 pwMS (age 37.8+11years; female n=50, 71.4%, EDSS 1.5[1;2]) were enrolled. 15 (21.4%) reported significant levels of fatigue, 14 (20%) presented motor fatigability. Fatigue and motor fatigability were not significantly correlated with one another (ρ=0.100;p=0.425) or with other clinical, cognitive, radiological features. Fatigue was related to Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) anxiety subscale (ρ=0.375,p=0.002), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) (ρ=0.543;p<0.001), neuroticism (ρ=0.313;p=0.006), and all subscales of MS-Quality-Of-Life 54. We did not find predictors of fatigability, while HADS-anxiety (b=0.76; p=0.003) and BDI-II (b=0.33; p=0.009) significantly predicted fatigue.

conclusionsOur results support different neurobiological underpinnings for motor fatigue and fatigability and reinforce the need for a multidimensional assessment from the earliest stages of the disease, to tailor therapeutic and rehabilitation strategies.

Indexed as

FatigueMultiple SclerosisAdolescentAdultAgedDisability EvaluationFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeverity of Illness IndexYoung Adult6MWTFatigueMotor FatigabilityMultidimensional assessmentMultiple Sclerosis

Identifiers

PMID41888461
PMCPMC13021720

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.