Dr. Krch is a senior research scientist in the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation. where she focuses on the application of new technologies to rehabilitation research that addresses the needs of culturally diverse populations .Kessler Foundation/Jody Banks

A team of researchers reported preliminary findings for efficacy of the Spanish version of the modified Story Memory Technique, a cognitive intervention developed at Kessler Foundation (KF-mSMT™). Their study, conducted in Mexicans with multiple sclerosis, is an important step toward addressing the void in evidence-based rehabilitative interventions for treating the cognitive effects of multiple sclerosis across diverse cultural populations. The article, “Efficacy of the Spanish modified Story Memory Technique in Mexicans with multiple sclerosis: A pilot randomized controlled trial,” (doi: 10.3233/NRE-192808) was epublished on November 28, 2019 by NeuroRehabilitation.

The authors are Denise Krch, PhD, Anthony Lequerica, PhD, and Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, of Kessler Foundation, Adriana Aguayo Arelis, MSc, and Brenda V. Rabago Barajas, MS, of Universidad Enrique D´?az de Leon and the Mexican MS Foundation, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, MD, of Cruces University Hospital, Bizkaia, Spain, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain, and University of the Basque Country, Leoia, Spain.

While problems with learning and memory occur across populations with multiple sclerosis around the world, the availability of evidence-based cognitive interventions in different languages is limited. The lack of interventions in Spanish presents a barrier to the rehabilitation of many individuals in the Hispanic community who have cognitive deficits caused by multiple sclerosis. An international team of researchers has adapted the English language KF-mSMT into Spanish, for use in the cognitive rehabilitation of Mexicans with multiple sclerosis.

In this pilot study, 20 participants with multiple sclerosis, relapsing-remitting type, were randomized to either treatment (n?=?10) or placebo control (n?=?10) groups. The treatment group received the Spanish adaptation of the KF-mSMT, a 10-session intervention that teaches imagery and context to facilitate learning. The control group participated in 10 sessions based on similar content and presentation. All participants underwent baseline and follow-up neuropsychological assessments. Individuals in the treatment group showed significant improvements in learning and life satisfaction relative to the control group, suggesting that that this adaptation of the KF-mSMT may be an effective rehabilitative tool in Spanish-speaking populations with MS, according to Dr. Krch, senior research scientist in the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research.

“This is an example of how cultural adaptation can be an effective way to extend evidence-based interventions to non-English speaking populations,” said Dr. Krch. “The positive outcomes seen in this pilot study of urban-based Mexicans have important implications,” she noted. “While further testing is needed, we anticipate that this adaptation of the modified Story Memory Technique will be applicable to the diverse Spanish-speaking population in the U.S., in addition to those with Mexican heritage.”