Columns

Fatigue. Most people with chronic illness – especially MS — experience this. My energy levels vary from one day to the next. I am tired of being tired (pun ... Read more

August 15, 2017August 16, 2017

An MS Study You Might Want to Join

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I was surprised to see that a study of a potential MS drug labeled MD1003 is still accepting participants. It’s a study that I’d love to take part in, ... Read more

August 14, 2017August 11, 2017

How I Overcome My Challenges to Stay Active

Columns, Faith of the Mustard Seed - a Column by Debi Wilson

Believe me, I enjoy being active. As I’m sitting in a chair or a wheelchair, it may not appear that way, but I do. I have multiple sclerosis, and ... Read more

August 14, 2017August 14, 2017

MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Study Volunteers Wanted, MS and the Flu, Iron and Pediatric MS, Botox

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

University of California at San Francisco Recruiting MS Patients for Gut Bacteria Study Last year, a Harvard study reported significant differences between bacteria that MS patients have in their ... Read more

August 11, 2017August 10, 2017

Cover to Cover, Books of All Kinds Can Lift Your Life

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

In “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” as excellent a book about wordcraft as has ever been set to paper, Stephen King says, “Books are a uniquely portable ... Read more

August 11, 2017August 10, 2017

Walk This Way

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

As I write, I’m pain-free. This is important, but not for the obvious reason. I’m pain-free and can walk — or at least stumble — about as best as I’ve ... Read more

August 11, 2017August 10, 2017

Are Insurance Companies Forcing You to Switch from Generics to Brand-Name Drugs?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Insurance companies want people to use generics, rather than the more expensive brand-name drugs, right? Maybe not. Because, at least in some cases, they’re doing just the opposite. Some ... Read more

August 10, 2017August 10, 2017

Tired of Fatigue

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Many of us with multiple sclerosis have heard the saying, “I go to bed wired and wake up tired.” This is quite accurate, as fatigue is one of the ... Read more

August 10, 2017August 9, 2017

Faces of MS Advocacy

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

Do you ever stop to wonder about the people who write these great columns for Multiple Sclerosis News Today? I have the honor of knowing several of them via ... Read more

August 9, 2017August 8, 2017

Mitigating that Pesky Canadian Particulate Matter

Columns, You've Got Some Nerves - A Column By Judy Lynn

Last week saw much of the Pacific Northwest blanketed by smoke from wildfires in British Colombia. As I pondered the gray haze Thursday, I recalled a piece from a ... Read more

August 9, 2017August 8, 2017

Paying Caregiver’s Dues: Giving as Good as I Get

Columns, MS in Motion - A Column by Mike Knight

The plastic mustard bottle hurtles toward the kitchen floor. Like a statue I stand, mouth agape, as it somersaults in slow-motion through space. Only seconds before, I’d removed the ... Read more

August 8, 2017August 8, 2017

There is a Shortage of Anatomical Donation of MS Brains

Columns, Make Change Happen - A Column by Paula Hardin

Multiple sclerosis damages human brains, so MS researchers often study mice brains. How can multiple sclerosis be cured or prevented without studies of human brains? Researchers need the anatomical ... Read more

August 8, 2017August 8, 2017

Lessons Learned from Loss: A Tribute

Columns, Patiently Awakened - A Column by Teresa Wright-Johnson

Why me? Why us? What have I done? How much loss can I endure? We’ve all been here. This was one of my weeks. The unexpected death of my ... Read more

August 8, 2017August 8, 2017

‘Easy Rider’ Dreams? Say Yes to the Motorcycle

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Reading some social media posts the other day, I found myself humming a line from a late 1960s Arlo Guthrie song: “I don’t want a pickle. Just want to ... Read more

August 7, 2017August 7, 2017

MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Resistance Training, Tysabri Report, Cognigram, and Depression

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Resistance Training Can Slow MS Patients’ Brain Shrinkage, Clinical Trial Indicates Over the years, studies have shown the benefits of various types of exercise in improving MS symptoms. But ... Read more

August 4, 2017August 3, 2017

Itchy Arms and the Internet: Making Rash Assumptions

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

It’s been an incredibly bad few weeks, so I’m not surprised that I spent recent days wondering if I had incurable liver disease. Living with chronic illness, plus the ... Read more

August 4, 2017August 3, 2017

A Warning About ‘Stem Cell Tourism’

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I regularly see comments on various social media sites from MS patients who have traveled, or who plan to travel, outside the U.S. to be treated with stem cells. ... Read more

August 3, 2017August 2, 2017

Exchanging a Sole for a Soul

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

What is it about the passage of time that can make you look at the same situation with diametrically differing points of view? I have come to find that ... Read more

August 3, 2017August 2, 2017

The Importance of Patients Having a Voice in MS Research

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

I recently spent time at the annual meeting of the Drug Information Association (DIA), listening to presentations and talking with industry representatives about the multiple sclerosis community’s needs. DIA is a ... Read more

August 3, 2017August 2, 2017

The MS Alphabet, Part 2 of the Letter ‘G’: Gilenya, Genetic, Glial Cells, and More

Columns, MS in Moderation, a column by Tamara Sellman

(Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with the second of two columns about terms starting with the letter “G.” Read more “G” terms here.) ... Read more

August 1, 2017July 31, 2017

Accessible, Affordable Housing Is Not Optional

Columns, Make Change Happen - A Column by Paula Hardin

Accessible housing is not optional for people with disabilities. Poverty and disability too often combine for too many people. It is one thing to know this double whammy exists ... Read more

August 1, 2017July 31, 2017

Use the Power of Writing to Lift Yourself, Others

Columns, Patiently Awakened - A Column by Teresa Wright-Johnson

The art of writing has been my refuge during some incredibly difficult times. Writing also serves as a vessel to express my joys, life lessons, and messages I wish ... Read more

August 1, 2017July 31, 2017

MS Docs Tell How They Choose Treatments

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

What does your neurologist consider when he or she is deciding how best to treat your multiple sclerosis? A recent report from Spherix Global Insights, a business intelligence and ... Read more

July 31, 2017July 31, 2017

MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Myelin Repair, Ocrevus and Insurance, Cell Therapies

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week: Q Therapeutics Approved to Start Trial ... Read more

July 28, 2017July 28, 2017

Sharpen Your Sense of Joy

A Life in Letters -- A Column By Jamie Hughes, Columns

Believe it or not, summer is nearing its end, and a new school year is upon us. I don’t know about you all, but I loved back-to-school time. It ... Read more

July 28, 2017July 28, 2017

Going Solo… Sort Of

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

In my youth, I hitchhiked the breadth of North America ― Canada, from east to west. I had 16 first cousins in the country and only my parents back ... Read more

July 28, 2017July 31, 2017

MS Therapies: What’s Hot, What’s Not

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Ocvevus (ocrelizumab) is off to a running start, Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) leads the pills and the four injectable multiple sclerosis drugs are being used by fewer MS patients. But ... Read more

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017

Choosing to Infuse Myself with Optimism

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

Living with an incurable, progressive disease can be physically and emotionally exhausting. I’ve always been a girl who thrives on proof and assurances, and there seem to be little ... Read more

July 27, 2017July 27, 2017

Got Questions? iConquerMS Seeks Answers

Columns, Engaging Thoughts

If you’ve followed my writing, you already know I am committed to advancing patient-centered research and care. I am the lead patient representative and co-principal investigator for iConquerMS. One ... Read more

July 27, 2017July 26, 2017

The MS Alphabet: Fatigue, FGF, Fasciculations and More F Words

Columns, MS in Moderation, a column by Tamara Sellman

Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this second of two columns about words starting with the letter F. Read the first “F” column ... Read more

July 26, 2017July 27, 2017

31 Lessons I’ve Learned in 31 Years of Living with MS

Columns, Making a Difference - a Column by Cathy Chester.

I was diagnosed at a time when no approved medications for MS existed and there was no internet to search for information about the disease. I was in ... Read more

July 26, 2017July 26, 2017

Cruising to Vacation Success with Adequate Preparation

Columns, You've Got Some Nerves - A Column By Judy Lynn

Earlier this month, I was fortunate to enjoy a beautiful cruise through the inside passage of Alaska. Having done my due diligence (see “Cruising Solutions“), I was prepared with ... Read more

July 26, 2017July 25, 2017

Dialing for MS Dollars: Fighting ‘Repeal and Replace’ One Call at a Time

Columns, MS in Motion - A Column by Mike Knight

I have written multiple iterations of this column trying to keep pace with the disastrous healthcare bills being presented first in the U.S. House of Representatives and now the ... Read more

July 25, 2017July 27, 2017

Like A Skyscraper: Tall, Strong and Monumental

Columns, Patiently Awakened - A Column by Teresa Wright-Johnson

My column last week focused on the difficulties of managing the emotions that accompany MS. I sincerely thank you for your responses, stories and words of encouragement. Again, the one ... Read more

July 25, 2017July 25, 2017

How Do You Answer ‘Are You Doing OK?’ When Asked About Your MS?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

“Are you doing ok?” It’s one of those questions we all get. And it’s one that most of us don’t like to answer. How do you respond when someone ... Read more

July 24, 2017July 24, 2017

How MS Helped Me Embrace Living in the Present

Columns, Faith of the Mustard Seed - a Column by Debi Wilson

My multiple sclerosis (MS) brings fatigue, pain, and instability into my life, but surprisingly, it also makes me more aware of my life and surroundings. For me, that means ... Read more

July 24, 2017July 24, 2017

MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Ocrevus and Insurance, Intimacy Issues, Breastfeeding

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week: Ocrevus Is Popular Among Neurologists, but ... Read more

July 21, 2017July 20, 2017

The Mouth that Roared

Columns, Fall Down, Get Up Again- a Column by John Connor

After 10-odd ― indeed, increasingly odd ― years, I presumed I’d become something of a gnarled hand at MS. If you read about something on practically a daily basis, ... Read more

July 21, 2017July 24, 2017

Do MS Patients in the UK Get the Right Treatment Quickly Enough?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

About two years ago, a report by the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform stated that only 21% of MS patients in the United Kingdom were receiving any kind of disease-modifying ... Read more

July 20, 2017July 21, 2017

Silver Linings

Columns, Silver Linings - a Column by Jennifer Powell

A silver lining is the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface. A metaphor for optimism, this accurately describes who I am. This is ... Read more