MS Progression Focus of MSAA Events, ‘Ask Experts’ Sessions for Awareness Month

Understanding multiple sclerosis (MS) progression will be the focus of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America’s (MSAA) campaign for MS Awareness Month 2018.

March has been recognized as MS Awareness Month since 2003. Across the U.S., MSAA events aim to raise public awareness about the disease, and increase involvement in the MS community through educational programs, support services and the like. The events are intended for everyone.

Programs planned  cover three main topics — relapse management, brain cognition and health, and primary progressive MS, according to a press release.

The first topic is “Helpful Tools for Relapse Management,” which spans the week of March 12. Events here, run with support from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, will cover strategies for coping with relapses and include a live webinar with Dr. Elizabeth Crabtree-Hartman on Tuesday, March 13 (8:00 PM – 9:00 pm EDT). Crabtree-Hartman is an associate professor of neurology at Tulane University School of Medicine and medical director of the Tulane MS Center.

MSAA will also host an “Ask Me Anything” program featuring Dr. Annette Okai on Monday, March 12 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EDT). Okai is a neurologist and an expert in the evaluation and treatment of MS. People can access this program via  My MSAA Community Online Forum, a free, peer-to-peer forum.

Events addressing “Brain Preservation and Cognition,” the second topic, span the week of March 19 and are supported by a grant from Celgene. They include five educational programs offered across the U.S., the release of results of an MSAA nationwide survey on brain preservation and cognition, and an “Ask Me Anything” featuring Dr. Rohit Bakshi on Monday, March 19 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EDT) on the group’s Facebook page.

Bakshi is a professor of neurology and radiology at Harvard Medical School and a senior neurologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston.

The third topic is “Healthy Living with Primary Progressive MS,”  and its events run the week of March 26 with support from Genentech. It also includes a number of educational programs, and a final “Ask Me Anything” with Dr. Steven Bromley, a neurologist based in New Jersey, is set for Thursday, March 29 (6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. EDT) on the MSAA’s Facebook page.

A calendar of events can be found here and details all planned events.

Primary progressive MS  affects approximately 15 percent of MS patients and is characterized by steady worsening of neurologic function, without early relapses or remissions.

The MSAA is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1970. It is dedicated to improving lives through ongoing support and direct services to individuals with MS, their families, and caregivers.