Complementary therapies for multiple sclerosis: Scoping review with evidence gap map.

BACKGROUND

A systematic visual presentation of clinical research on complementary therapies for people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) can support clinical decisions and guide future research.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the interventions and outcomes evaluated in systematic reviews (SRs) and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of complementary therapies for pwMS.

METHODS

Scoping review searching four databases for RCTs (any date) and SRs (since 2017). Results were presented in an evidence and gap map (EGM).

RESULTS

The map displayed 63 complementary therapies, 30 outcomes of a core outcome set (COS) and 83 studies (46 SRs, 37 RCTs) published from 1977 to 2023. Most trials were small (26 (70.2%) had 100-200 participants) and conducted in Europe (n = 28; 75.6%). Natural products (n = 57 studies) and mind-body therapies (n = 12) were the most frequent groups of interventions. Cannabis (n = 24) and vitamins (n = 15) were the most frequent individual therapies. For 65.1% of the 63 listed interventions, there were no RCTs or SRs. Seventeen (56.7%) of the 30 core outcomes had fewer than five studies. Seven outcomes (23.3%) were not evaluated. The most frequent outcomes were ability to work/perform daily activities (n = 40 studies), safety (n = 37), health-related quality of life (n = 32), and fatigue (n = 31).

CONCLUSIONS

This overview of RCTs and SRs of complementary therapies for pwMS indicates that the available research is scarce, with many interventions and outcomes unevaluated. Future RCTs should be adequately powered to assess outcomes relevant to pwMS. Efforts should be made to integrate research from non-Western studies to inform decisions.