Central motor conduction examined with the triple stimulation technique correlates with pyramidal tract dysfunction and disability in patients with multiple sclerosis

Inflammatory lesions and axonal degeneration of central motor conduction pathways result in gait disturbance and result in increasing disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Conventional transcranial magnetic stimulation can be used to estimate central conduction times, but is a less sensitive method to detect axonal damage or conduction block and correlates weakly with clinical disability. The triple stimulation technique (TST) examines the corticospinal tract by magnetic stimulation of cortical motor areas followed by sequential distal and proximal peripheral nerve electric stimulation. The TST po…