Stroboscopic visual training (SVT) is a form of training aimed at improving visual and perceptual performance by having individuals perform activities under conditions of intermittent vision. The efficacy of SVT has never been examined in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), therefore, our aim was to examine the immediate effect of SVT on cognitive function, gait and static balance performance in PwMS. This assessor-blinded, randomized crossover study included 26 PwMS, 16 females, mean age 47.9 and median EDSS score 4.5. Participants attended two sessions: SVT and control training. Exercises for both the SVT and control sessions were based on ball-catching tasks. Training sessions were identical in length (40–50 min) and type of exercise drills. The difference between the two practice regimes was that the SVT session was performed wearing stroboscopic glasses and the control training was performed with similar glasses without lenses. Cognition was evaluated by a computerized software (Mindstreams^®, NeuroTrax Corp., NY). Gait and balance were evaluated via wearable accelerometers (APDM, Oregon, USA). Outcome measures were collected twice during a single session, prior to training and immediately afterward. Information processing speed (p = 0.003) increased at the post-evaluation compared with baseline, solely in the SVT session. No differences between pre–post evaluations were observed for other cognitive scores following the SVT session. No differences between pre–post measurements were noted for gait and balance following the SVT session. The present study’s results justify performing future RCT studies to examine the effects of a longer SVT program on cognition in PwMS.

频闪视觉训练 (SVT) 是一种训练形式，旨在通过让个人在间歇性视力条件下进行活动来提高视觉和感知能力。从未在多发性硬化症 (PwMS) 患者中检查过 SVT 的功效，因此，我们的目标是检查 SVT 对 PwMS 中认知功能、步态和静态平衡表现的直接影响。这项评估者设盲的随机交叉研究包括 26 名 PwMS，16 名女性，平均年龄 47.9 岁，EDSS 得分中位数为 4.5。参与者参加了两个课程：SVT 和控制培训。SVT 和控制会话的练习均基于接球任务。训练课程的长度（40-50 分钟）和锻炼类型相同。两种练习方案之间的区别在于，SVT 训练是佩戴频闪眼镜进行的，而对照训练是使用类似的没有镜片的眼镜进行的。认知通过计算机软件（Mindstreams^®，NeuroTrax 公司，纽约）。通过可穿戴加速度计（APDM，俄勒冈州，美国）评估步态和平衡。在一次训练期间，在训练之前和之后立即收集结果测量值两次。 与基线相比，仅在 SVT 会话中，信息处理速度 ( p = 0.003) 在评估后增加。在 SVT 会话之后，没有观察到其他认知评分的前后评估之间存在差异。SVT 训练后的步态和平衡在前后测量之间没有差异。本研究的结果证明未来进行 RCT 研究是正确的，以检查更长的 SVT 计划对 PwMS 认知的影响。