Columns

Spring is rapidly approaching. It’s warming up outside. The trees are starting to bloom. And inside our home, I am once again plotting to refresh the place. Out with old decorations, and in with the new! Declutter that closet! Donate the table and chairs that still look great because you…

There I was, swinging away in my hoist at 9 p.m., though my swinging London of the 2020s wasn’t only 60 years later, it was also a lot, lot grimmer. My carer and maybe still wife, Jane, stood below in a controlled fury. If nothing else, she might…

“I close my eyes/ Only for a moment then the moment’s gone/ All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity.” — Kansas, “Dust in the Wind”  The dark cloud of fatigue first swept through my mind toward the end of 2018. I was no stranger to physical fatigue,…

#ACTRIMS2022 – Immune System ‘Reset’ by Stem Cell Transplant At the University of Ottawa, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has been used to treat people with aggressive MS since the early 2000s, MS News Today‘s Marisa Wexler reports. This study, which reviewed 71 patients during that period, reports…

Am I about to share my first conspiracy theory, even if it’s just about me? Why not? It’s all the rage, though this one may have a loose connection to a possible truth. Stick with the story, please. It requires some scene-setting. It was years ago, at the end of…

For my wife, Laura, and I, trying to change our address on our health insurance accounts last week was like following Alice down the rabbit hole. As Lewis Carroll wrote in the classic children’s novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”: “The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel…

“In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix must first burn.” — Octavia E. Butler You know that feeling of waking up in a strange place, and it takes a second to remember where you are? Imagine that coupled with not being able to move from the neck…

Fatigue Severity in MS Predicted by Shrinkage of Certain Brain Regions For several years, I’ve been a believer, along with many neurologists, in the theory that it’s best to treat MS as quickly and effectively as possible. Though directed at only fatigue indicators, this research looking at brain atrophy…

The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur. Our younger son caught the COVID-19 virus at school, and once we got a positive home test, we went into containment mode. While I took him to get an official test at a local clinic, my husband got everything…

Roll up, roll up, for all the fun of the fare! I swallow an awful lot of supplements. Have I also swallowed the barkers’ patter? I don’t think so. But I’m more than aware that if something works on mice, then the chances of it working on me are likely…

If you’re like me, you’re always wondering what obstacles you’ll need to overcome if you eat at a new restaurant or visit another venue you’ve never been to before. Will you physically be able to enter? If so, can you navigate once inside? Are the bathrooms accessible? You could…

Blood Stem Cell Transplant May Help Immune System Longer I’m a proponent of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) to treat MS. The process entails extracting a patient’s own stem cells, usually from the bone marrow, treating them to kill immune cells that trigger MS attacks, and then infusing…

Once upon a time, long, long ago, when I was very young, we British children would be asked, “What’s through the round window?” The line was from a TV series called “Play School.” The swinging ’60s may have been breaking in London, but culturally, this was the happening show…

My immediate thought after reading a recent MS News Today headline stating that trigeminal neuralgia (TN) affects more than 3% of MS patients was, “Really, only 3%?” The reason is I’ve seen several complaints about the condition, which causes excruciating pain in the face. As the story noted, TN…

“You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming?” — James Matthew Barrie Being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis significantly changed my perception of myself and the surrounding world. This drastic shift has been overwhelming and difficult to accept in many ways. The…

Combined Data May Predict Person’s Risk of Advancing From CIS to MS Clinically isolated syndrome is sometimes called “early MS.” It’s the diagnosis used when someone’s symptoms don’t quite look like MS, but it does appear that MS is lurking. It may take years for an actual…

My husband and I have been on a bit of a quest as of late. For several reasons that I won’t bore you with here, we are in search of a new church to join. A few weekends ago, we made our first visit to an Orthodox church here…

As usual, I’ve gone for what I hope to be an intriguing headline, because you’ve got to grab a reader by any means necessary. If you’ve read this far, I’m winning! This saga goes back well over a year, when my neurologist suggested I participate in a clinical trial for…

I’ve been popping vitamin D pills for years — decades, really. I never really understood why, I just knew that many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) are vitamin D-deficient. A recent study has cast some new light on why I should continue. It all seems to comes down to…

COVID-19 Booster May Benefit Patients on Anti-CD20 Therapy After multiple reports of how Gilenya and anti-CD20 MS medications reduce the efficacy of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, here’s more evidence that a booster shot may improve that protection. The researchers report “modestly increased levels” of anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after a third…

In truth, my long, bad Friday started on Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m., although it seems wrong in the middle of a black, midwinter night to still call it afternoon. Still, if you live in Alaska, summer nights never even start! (OK, I’ll stop musing about the vagaries of Earth’s…

Reservations at a base lodge have been made, and a starting date is circled on her calendar. MS hiker April Hester is ready to start up the Appalachian Trail in the eastern U.S. It’s always an uphill hike for April, even when the trail is flat. She was diagnosed with…

“Hey, man, I’m alive. I’m taking each day and night at a time/ I’m feeling like a Monday but someday I’ll be Saturday night.” — Bon Jovi Multiple sclerosis (MS) medications can generally be separated into two categories: disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and those that help to manage symptoms. While…

Imaging Brain Metabolites May Help Diagnose, Monitor MS Have you ever heard of magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, or MRSI? I hadn’t until I read this story. It’s a technique that in concept allows a radiologist to see metabolites in the brain. Metabolites are small molecules that are produced during…

One of the great things about living in Atlanta is that there is always something new and exciting going on in town. Sure, we have our fair share of sporting events, but on any given night, you can attend a live concert, or see a show or stand-up performance. There…

Move along, move along. Nothing to read here. What a great start to a column! Last week, my worries about MS lifted as I was consumed by a glitch in my computer software. I’m pleased to report that I’ve found a whole series of admittedly fiddly workarounds. I’m even…

You may have heard about the research that’s just been published about the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS). The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study reports that being infected by EBV raises the risk of developing MS by 32 times. This isn’t a small or…

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that is the great puzzle.” — “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” by Lewis Carrol Jan. 9 was my 31st birthday. I remember looking outside, watching the low January sun glisten on the frosty ground as its orange haze thawed the earth. I liken this…

Epstein-Barr Virus May be Leading Cause of MS, Raising Risk by 32 Times Several studies over the past few years have suggested a link between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis (MS), but this one is huge, both in the number of participants and in the length…

The vagaries of multiple sclerosis are always present, but this week, my waking hours have been consumed by something far more important. I say waking hours, but we have to discount much of that time, because I’m put to bed at the early hour of 10 p.m. and spend several…