October 5, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How do you describe your multiple sclerosis to others? Back in spring, I wrote about the fatigue that accompanies multiple sclerosis (MS) and how difficult it was to describe and for others to understand. That’s true, of course, but really, the entirety of MS is difficult to explain. Factor in the variety of symptoms and the…
October 2, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Stem cell transplant, Lemtrada, treating seniors Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Stem cell transplant found to be safe, effective in recent study Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) has been…
September 29, 2023 Columns by John Connor And a good time was had by the sclerosis boys I havenāt seen my mate Nige for years. Actually, to his face I call him Nigel, but itās Nige when I, or anyone else, talk about him in the third person. It’s weird ā I’d never thought about that before typing his name just now. And itās not like he…
September 29, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias What you need to know about COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines My wife and I got the latest COVID-19 vaccine the other day, the first of three vaccines we’ll be getting this fall. The others are the seasonal flu vaccine and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. This was my sixth COVID-19 vaccine, and I’ve received a…
September 28, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, don’t worry about asking stupid questions I ask a lot of questions. I have to, because I’ve come to realize that I don’t actually know that much. Asking questions (even to myself) is the only solution. Oddly enough, though, learning new things doesn’t completely scratch my itch, as the answers just keep showing me how much…
September 25, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: ANK-700, traveling for treatment, cognition Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: An ‘inverse vaccine’ trial to treat MS What’s an “inverse vaccine,” you might ask? While traditional vaccines rev up…
September 22, 2023 Columns by John Connor A quiet MS week that’s just too darned loud to think Big breath, for my travails below necessitate a catch-up on my story so far. For once, my multiple sclerosis and the myriad joyous comorbidities itās conferred on me āĀ trigeminal neuralgia, lymphedema, diplopia, spasticity ā have given me a break. So have the fellow travelers who’ve…
September 22, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Have you struggled to find a neurologist who understands MS? A question that’s been bothering me lately is this: It seems that more than a few neurologists have a less than optimal understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS). Why is that?Ā In my four decades of living with MS, and during the several years I’ve written this column…
September 21, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Learning the hard way that with MS, no infection is routine I’ve never been one to worry too much about what my purpose in life is. It’s not that I’m incapable of being philosophical, or that I was ever too egotistical to think I needed one. I suppose I just thought that if I had a purpose, it’d work…
September 18, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Vaccines, migraines, eye-tracking technology Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Vaccines pose no unusual risk of MS hospitalization, study says It’s time for me to get my seasonal flu shot,…
September 15, 2023 Columns by John Connor Aggressive MS has me depressed for one whole day How do you start a column about depression that isnāt, well, depressing? Thatās a question for me to answer rather than you lot. If youāre still reading this weekās musings, then so far Iāve done pretty darned good. It was a confluence of events that fortunately involved water. I’d…
September 15, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias I may be stressed out, but my MS doesn’t know about it Lightning struck at 3 a.m. the other night. The alarm system in my apartment blared ā beep, beep, beep ā for hours. The dog was barking, the cat was zooming, and I wasn’t sleeping. My stress meter was off the scale. We know that stress can trigger of…
September 11, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Bowel symptoms, MS blood test, diet study Note: This column was updated Sept. 12, 2023, to correct that Octave’s MSDA blood test is currently available and in use throughout the U.S. Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look…
September 8, 2023 Columns by John Connor Youāve got a Napoleon complex, you have, mate I don’t have a Napoleon complex in the sense of being small. My body still spans 6 feet, though that’s only when I’m lying down; I doubt I get anywhere near 5 feet tall while seated in my wheelchair. Saint Jane (my wife) is 5-foot-2, and I now look…
September 8, 2023 Columns by Jamie Hughes Live well, love well, be well: Bidding my dear readers farewell When I started this column nearly seven years ago,Ā I thought I had a couple years of material in me at best. It’d be a fun experience writing twice a month, getting some thoughts out there into the world and hopefully helping some people in the process. It certainly has…
September 8, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Let’s not get overexcited about any mouse study used in research Mice exaggerate and monkeys lie, some researchers jokingly say. (Or is it the other way around?) Testing on rodents and animals is a typical early step in creating medications, and Multiple Sclerosis News Today publishes news articles about many of these studies. It’s interesting to read what researchers are…
September 7, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How do you define defiance while living with MS? Recently, I was asked about the design on the left side of my “Chairborne” banner. A friend from my previous occupation humorously noted that in the original graphic, there’s a skull in the center where the wheelchair now resides. I pointed out that in my current state, a wheelchair…
September 5, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Diagnosing PPMS, NB-4746, Neubie stimulation Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: PPMS is difficult to diagnose, report says Most people who have multiple sclerosis start out with a diagnosis of…
September 1, 2023 Columns by John Connor Yet another urinary tract infection causes a complete change of plans What follows is something of an emergency column. All of yesterday’s writing had to be scrapped. Iām now down at the bottom of Column Mountain, squinting up through the clouds and mist, trying to work out again whatās the best route to climb. Last night, I knew the dreaded urinary…
September 1, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias The 1st biosimilar OK’d as an MS DMT should save patients money The late August approval of Tyruko (natalizumab-sztn) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is big news in the multiple sclerosis (MS) world. Tyruko is a biosimilar for Tysabri (natalizumab), and it’s the first biosimilar to gain FDA approval as an MS disease-modifying therapy…
August 31, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, hindsight is accurate āĀ and often unkind “Being diagnosed later in life is like watching a TV show with a huge plot twist revealed at the end of the season and then rewatching it with this new knowledge, picking up on all the foreshadowing and getting upset that you didn’t see all of it before.” ā…
August 28, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Spasticity, early treatment, pediatric onset Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Can noninvasive brain stimulation reduce MS spasticity? For a long time, I’ve had to deal with spasticity, a common…
August 25, 2023 Columns by John Connor The itch that turned into an outbreak of yet another comorbidity It’s a new week, so itās time for a new comorbidity. Not content with affecting my brain, spine, and bodily functions, secondary progressive multiple sclerosis is now making my body break down at a cellular level. Make something funny out of that, Connor. Toughie, this one. Maybe later ā…
August 25, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias My scooter, my grandkids, and a cave: What could go wrong? My wife, Laura, thought it would be fun to take our grandkids, ages 7 and 9, to spend a few hours exploring a giant cave. I wasn’t so sure. Ten minutes into the excursion, I was wondering which one of the adults would be hauled out in an ambulance. This…
August 24, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Living with MS can often feel like being lost in the woods Years before joining the Army crossed my mind, I was a Boy Scout. We learned all sorts of skills, earned merit badges, and, of course, spent lots of time hiking and camping. I have many fond memories of those scouting years, but one lesson I remember in particular was…
August 21, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Measuring the cost of MS, early treatment, Pilates Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: MS is costly to patients and society People with MS understand how costly the disease can be in terms of…
August 18, 2023 Columns by John Connor Oh, how far we’ve come since the ‘Victorian Era’ of treating MS In 2010, I strolled into a new hospital to meet my new neurologist. In them there far-off days, I was indeed strolling ā nay, striding ā but it wouldn’t last. I was surrounded by an aura of self-confidence that anyone whoās survived the vicissitudes of nearly three decades of show…
August 18, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias A topical reminder to prepare for a disaster while living with MS By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures of the wildfires that charred Maui, Hawaii. As I write this, a week after the blaze, The Associated Press reports that more than 100 people have been killed, and the governor expects “scores more.” Some neighborhoods are gone. People literally…
August 17, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Parachuting my way through this life with MS Ten minutes away from the drop zone, we stood up and began the final preparations for the jump. The aircraft flew in anything but a straight line as it turned, banked, and swiftly changed altitude. This unpredictable flying technique was tactically sound, as it made the plane difficult to target,…
August 14, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Biomarkers, cow’s milk, EBV vaccine Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Is it MS or something else? Should all autoimmune diseases that damage myelin be called MS? Probably not, according…