November 15, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight 3 Tips for Explaining MS to Others Face it: Understanding MS isnāt easy ā even if you have it. Thereās no known cause, no cure, no predictability in progression, and while there are common symptoms and manifestations, they affect everyone differently. Some symptoms come and go with no rhyme or reason and…
November 14, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson The Awe of Autumn: Welcoming Change , Spring has always been my favorite season. There is something about flowers blooming, grass growing and the germination process that invigorates me. Spring reminds me that a new season is coming and it ignites hope. I am discovering that autumn deeply resonates with me as well. When I…
November 14, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Thanks to Caregivers Who Share Our MS Load The MS load we carry is heavy. Some of us, unfortunately, must carry it alone. But many of us are fortunate to have someone with whom we can share the weight. It’s National Family Caregivers Month and a new survey shows just how heavy that load can…
November 13, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Myelin Repair, MS Blood Test, Comparing DMTs Myelin-producing Brain Cells Regenerated Using Stem Cells in Early Study We know that when the myelin coating of our nerve axons is destroyed, MS symptoms result. So a process that halts or reverses that destruction is the goal of a lot of MS research. This is a…
November 9, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: MRI, Myelin, mAbs, and Other ‘M’ Words Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this first of two columns about terms starting with the letter M. Symptoms of MS Memory problems Memory loss is a common complaint for people with MS. Even for those with no physical or…
November 9, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell A Beacon of Hope Amid MS-Related Pain Do you have pain? Although prone to subjectivity, I am certain the majority of you silently said yes. I did. I hesitated to write this, as pain, from the definition of it to the management of it, is idiosyncratic. Rather than draw hard and fast lines, I prefer to…
November 9, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Ocrevus Q&A, Part 2 Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series on readers’ comments about Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). Read part one here. Last week, I responded to a few comments on columns regarding my personal experience with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). Here are more reader comments and my answers.
November 8, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Show Your Immune System Some Love This weekend, as I turned back the clocks, searched for my Happy Light, and stared in dismay at the first snowfall of the season, I was reminded that it is the time to give my immune system some extra love. Autumn and winter ā with their requisite cold and…
November 7, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Thinking About Stopping Your MS Treatments? Have you ever thought about stopping whatever MS treatment you’re using? I have. So has John Corboy. Corboy’s not an MS patient. Rather, he’s a researcher at the University of Colorado’s medical school. And he’s studying whether older patients, if they haven’t had a relapse for several…
November 6, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Older Patients, Stem Cells, Myelin, B-cells vs. T-cells #MSParis2017 ā Trial to See if Disease-modifying Therapies Not Necessary in Older MS Patients This tops my list this week because, at age 69, I certainly fit the definition of an “older” MS patient. The study is hoping to enroll 300 MS patients in the U.S. who…
November 3, 2017 Columns by John Connor The Weekend The weekend should have started on Friday. My sister-in-law is over from France and there was the first gathering of the clan in a local hostelry. I took the sensible option of staying in as there was an even bigger do at our place on Saturday night. My…
November 3, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Dealing with Disaster While Dealing with MS Are you ready for a disaster? Wildfires in the wine country of Northern California exploded so quickly that survivors say they didn’t know they were threatened until flames were nearly at their doors. Hurricane Harvey forced more than 9,000 people into Houston’s main evacuation shelter. It…
November 2, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Lhermitte’s, LDN, Lymphopenia, and other ‘L’ words Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with the second of two columns about terms starting with the letter “L.” Symptoms of MS Lhermitteās Sign Otherwise known as “barber chair sign,” Lhermitte’s sign describes an intense shock-like pain racing down the back…
November 2, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Don’t Miss Out on Life I love photographs and have them strewn about and framed throughout the house. From grandchildren and goldens, holidays and travels, each holds a cherished memory. I am happiest taking photos and have cultivated somewhat of a hobby doing so. As I have gotten older, I have (gratefully) discarded the…
November 2, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Ocrevus Q&A, Part 1 Editor’s Note: First in a two-part series on readers’ comments about Ocrevus (ocrelizumab). I switched disease-modifying therapies and began treatment with Ocrevus (ocrelizumab)Ā in June. I previously wrote about my reasons for switching, my experiences with the first two doses, and more recently, about any…
November 1, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight On the Other Hand: Leaning Left With MS Some months ago my wife and I went out for dinner at our favorite sushi place. As is frequently the custom at sushi restaurants, the table setting included chopsticks. No forks. Iāll be painfully honest here: We are both woefully unskilled at using…
October 31, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Invisible Illness Awareness: The Struggle Continues Last week was Invisible Illness Awareness Week, which ran from Oct 14-20. Awareness weeks are designed to bring attention to certain conditions, issues and situations. They are directed at creating consciousness and disseminating information. Sadly, invisible illness is a subject that needs much more attention. Those of…
October 31, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Relapses May Be Significantly Under-Reported. Duh. This comes as no surprise to me and probably not to you. MS patients may not always contact their healthcare providers when they’re having a relapse. This information comes via a pair of surveys that were released at the recent ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS conference in Paris. In the first,…
October 30, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Life’s Curveballs Life is full of curveballs, with a mix of sliders, split-fingered fastballs, and sinkers thrown in. And, it is the curveballs that can be the hardest to take. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the major “curveballs” thrown into my life; I didn’t see it coming and it…
October 30, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: #MSParis, Biotin, Tysabri, Lemtrada, Propionic Acid Reports There’s been a lot of interest in the treatments (including natural treatments) for progressive MS that were presented at the ECTRIMS-ACTRIMS conference in Paris last week. Here are a few of our reports involving that research. #MSParis2017 ā MedDayās High-Dose Biotin, MD1003, Improves Disability in Progressive MS…
October 27, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes Meowmaste: Finding a Spark Inside Myself āWe donāt say the āD wordā here,ā our instructor said. āJust for tonight, letās all get into downward-facing cat.ā The yoga pose wasnāt one I was comfortable in, but then again, so much about yoga makes me uncomfortable ā the clothes, the breathy pseudo-spirituality, the jargon, the way…
October 27, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Patients and Neurologists Team Up to Gather MS Therapy Data Since the approval of the first disease-modifying drug (DMD) for MS back in the mid-1990s, another dozen or so have been added as treatment options. But, just as MS affects each patient differently, so do the drugs. Missing has been a tool to follow MS patients and their…
October 26, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman MS Alphabet: Lesion, LP, Leukocytes, and Other ‘L’ Words Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this first of two columns about terms starting with the letter L. Symptoms of MS Lesion Lesions are a defining feature of MS. They also are referred to as scars or plaques. These areas of damage…
October 26, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Finding Support When Living with MS Last Saturday, I received a FaceTime call from my father who was attending my cousinās wedding reception. Both he and my mom traveled out of state to attend it, as did the majority of my large extended family. The happy clamor of boisterous chatter made it almost impossible…
October 25, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Friendships and MS Maintaining friendships can be challenging for those with a chronic illness. It may be difficult for friends to understand the changes that take place because of MS. Some changes are quite sudden and visible, others sneak in slowly. Increased fatigue or pain, I find, are most difficult for friends…
October 24, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Smiling With Intention: Counting Blessings Although a smile costs nothing, it can be just what a person needs. Many have encouraged me throughout my life with a smile, thus teaching me how powerful the act of smiling can be. Someone complimented me on my smile this week. I smiled again with a heartfelt…
October 24, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias When You Read About MS Treatments, Read Past the Headline There’s been some internet buzz recently about the possibility of an over-the-counter allergy drug that helps to repair the myelin that MS damages. The drug is clemastine fumarate, and I suspect that some of that buzz may have been generated by headlines found on Twitter and…
October 23, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Mavenclad, Tecfidera, Ublituximab, Ocrevus The giant ECTRIMS/ACTRIMS MS conference begins in Paris on Wednesday, Oct. 25, and this column focuses on several of the presentations on which Multiple Sclerosis News Today will be reporting during the week. #MSParis2017 ā Mavenclad Reduces Relapses, Prevents New Lesions in Many RRMS Patients, Presentations Will…
October 20, 2017 Columns by John Connor The Blowout It was one of those mornings the day after, when I was moving like a zombie before they became ubiquitous. The night before had been my 30th birthday ā I was now an old bloke. About 20 of us had gathered in an uber-cool West End London restaurant, drank…
October 20, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Opening People’s Eyes to Our Invisible MS Those of us who have MS know that our disease can be invisible. We don’t always stumble when we walk. We don’tĀ always use some sort of an assistive device that would alert people to our illness. So what we often get from those who don’t know better are those…