I bet that many, if not most, people with MS who are reading
this are thinking, "This is news? I could have told anyone that
my thinking (along with other things) is impaired in hot
weather." This actually is a big deal, because it is the first
time that the link between heat and cognitive functioning in
people with MS has been formally demonstrated. Researchers from
the Kessler Foundation, with funding from the National MS
Society and the National Institutes of Health, conducted a study
comparing cognitive functioning in different temperature
conditions in 40 people with MS and 40 people without MS. The
data showed that people with MS scored 70 percent worse on tests
of memory and processing speed during hot days, while people
without MS scored the same during hot and cool days. This is
important information for many reasons. The study scientists
pointed out that this type of seasonality could really affect
clinical trial results. For instance, if people enrolled in a
trial in the summer and were followed fo