Our previous research showed that vigorous aerobic training in a room cooled to 16°C can improve walking and measures of brain plasticity among people with MS related walking disability, especially in those who had fatigue and heat sensitivity. As a next step, we will compare our novel vigorous intensity cool room treadmill training to low intensity cool room treadmill walking and determine whether intensity is important in order to improve brain repair and restore walking among people with MS. Our first objective is to compare the effects of 12 weeks of vigorous versus low intensity training on walking. Our second objective is to determine whether treadmill training alters indicators of brain repair. We hypothesize that the cool room vigorous training will result in greater increases in walking and less fatigue, which will be sustained at follow-up. We also hypothesize that improvements will align with less brain inhibition (shortened CSP measured using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) and greater upregulation of the neurotrophin IGF-1.
