Exercise on Contactin-1 and Contactin-2 Level in Persons With Multiple Sclerosis

This randomized controlled trial with a blinded outcome assessment evaluated an 8-week (3 sessions per week) training intervention to determine the effect of exercise on contactin-1 and contactin-2 in persons with RRMS. The participants were divided into the intervention and control groups by stratified randomization. Stratification was randomly assigned as 1≤ EDSS ≤ 3 and 3\< EDSS ≤5.5 using Windows-based SPSS 25.0. (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). All measurements and tests were performed before and after the 8-week exercise program. Blood samples were taken for analysis of contactin-1 and contactin-2 serum levels, after which participants completed a cognitive performance and a cardiopulmonary exercise test. The current study was approved by the Fırat University Human Research Ethics Local Committee (2021/12-38) and was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants were informed about the study and their written informed consent was obtained before the study. Participants performed a graded cardiopulmonary exercise test on a cycle ergometer (Ergoline Ergoselect 200; Ergoline GMBH, Bitz, Germany) at the beginning to determine their maximum aerobic capacity. The test was stopped at the moment of voluntary exhaustion, when patients were unable to maintain cadence (\<50 rpm), the maximum effort was achieved, or for safety reasons. Venous blood was drawn using venipuncture and clotted for serum and centrifuged at 4000g for 5 minutes at 4°C. Serum samples then were aliquoted, and stored at -80°C until were assayed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. The serum levels of Contactin-1 (Cat.No: E-EL-H1498) and Contactin-2 (Cat.No: E-EL-H1499) were measured with commercially available specific human ELISA kits (Elabscience, Houston, Texas, United States). Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test with the 3-second stimulus (PASAT-3) was used as a measure of cognitive performance including information processing speed, working memory and sustained attention