Abnormalities of cardiac repolarization in multiple sclerosis: relationship with a model of allergic encephalomyelitis in rat.

Ventricular repolarization was investigated for the first time in 48 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using measurement of QTc interval on standard electrocardiographic recordings. The repolarization process was prolonged significantly in MS compared to control subjects (P = 0.0001). This result was confirmed with an animal model of MS, i.e., the experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in rat. The contribution of prolonged QT to syncopal attack or sudden cardiac death in MS patients need further investigation.