Treatment of patients with neuromuscular disease in a warm climate

[Guest guest]

Research Report/English Summarry fromTidsskr Nor Laegeforen. 2004 Jul

1;124(13)

Treatment of patients with neuromuscular disease in a warm climate.

(NOTE: mentions Hereditary Neuropathy)

Arve Dahl, Ola H. Skjeldal, s Simensen, Håkon E. Dalen, Tone

Bråthen, Petra Ahlvin, Ellen Kathrine Svendsby, Anne Sveinall, Per

Morten Fredriksen

Background: Several patient groups request treatment in a warm climate,

in spite of the fact that the effects of such treatment are

undocumented.

Material and methods: 47 children and 40 adults with neuromuscular

diseases were recruited, stratified according to sex, use or non-use of

electric wheelchair, primary myopathy or hereditary neuropathy, and

randomised into two adult and two children groups. The patients were

treated in a rehabilitation centre, either on Lanzarote or in Norway.

All patients were monitored with physical tests and questionnaires at

the start of the study, at the end of the treatment period, after three

months (all groups) and after six months (adults only).

Results: No significant differences in effect between the groups were

found. In the warm climate, the adult patient group showed a

statistically significant improvement regarding pain, quality of life,

depression, and results of physical tests at the end of treatment. After

three months, the improvement in physical tests was still present. Among

adult patients treated in Norway, improvement in physical tests was

statistically significant after three months, but not at the end of the

treatment period.

Interpretation: This study did not show a statistically significant

difference between patients with various neuromuscular diseases treated

in a warm climate compared to similar patients treated in Norway.