Nintendo's Wii Balance Board is a peripheral for an aging, out-of-date game console. Yet one researcher has found a use for it that could give the system and the Board new life.

An Italian scientist, Dr. Luca Prosperini of Rome's Sapienza University, found that the Balance Board could be a powerful tool in the arsenal in the fight against multiple sclerosis. Prosperini has been studying the effects of the Balance Board on MS patients, and his findings are encouraging.

Like all MS symptoms, balance disruption is caused by problems with how the brain communicates with the body. Prosperini's study of 27 MS patients and 15 healthy patients showed that using the Balance Board improved balance and even repaired some of the impulse conduction between the brain and the body. He believes that the benefits come from patients mimicking movements they see on their TV screens, which actively engages both the body and the mind.

The study's results are encouraging, but the Balance Board is far from a cure. The study showed that the balance improvements aren't permanent. If patients want to enjoy its benefits, they have to keep doing it ad infinitum, like all forms of exercise. Additionally, it's not entirely clear what the changes to the brain mean, exactly. Patients also run the risk of falling during the exercise, which can lead to injury.

"Patients with MS should be encouraged to start using this system only under supervision," Prosperini cautions in his study, published today in medical journal Radiology. "Once well-trained, they may use it at home."

When Prosperini approached Nintendo requesting a grant for his study, the Japanese company turned him down. Fortunately, the Italian MS Society stepped in to help.

The study was conducted by splitting patients into two groups. One group exercised using the Wii Balance Board for 30-40 minutes five days a week. The other group had no access to the device. After three months, the groups reversed roles. MRI scans showed the benefits.