Neurológia pre prax 3/2022

Improving gait in patients with multiple sclerosis

Gait impairment is among the most limiting symptoms in multiple sclerosis. The goal of specific treatment with immunomodulatory drugs (disease-modifying drugs, DMD) is to halt or at least suppress disease activity as much as possible. Despite this, gait impairment may occur in some patients. In such a case, it is possible to offer symptomatic pharmacological treatment or rehabilitation therapy. Symptomatic drugs intended to treat gait impairment particularly include the medicinal product fampridine (Fampyra®) which has been available in the Czech Republic since 2011. In April 2022, it became possible to receive reimbursement by health insurance for this drug; as a result, attending physicians may now be more likely to encounter requests for prescribing this preparation. The article aims to summarize possible benefits of this drug and describe specific conditions of reimbursement. Also discussed are the options of rehabilitation therapy for gait impairment.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, gait, fampridine, rehabilitation