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…
October 19, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Accepting that Sometimes, We Need Rest By the grace of God, I am a naturally positive individual who lends optimism and hope to even the bleakest of situations. Because of this, it is difficult to find me in a situation when my auspicious nature tires; after all, we find out the most…
October 19, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski How Doctors’ Gender Can Influence Opinions on Healthcare Quality There are two doctors. Hereās your choice: One has a patient-centered approach to care, spends more time with you during appointments, and is more empathetic with your concerns. On average, patients under this doctor live longer. The other doctor spends less time in the appointment, struggles to listen…
October 18, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester New Video Series Features ‘It Takes a Team’ Thereās a difference between being lucky and being blessed. I learned that difference in 1992, after giving birth to our son. Once the doctors counted 10 toes, 10 fingers and we heard the babyās first cry, I remarked to my husband how lucky we were.
October 18, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Cue Me In I have every single malady associated with MS. Iām absolutely positive. Because whenever I find out about a new one, or a new study that says we donāt sleep well, or we twitch or tremble, or suffer from this deficiency or that, Iāve got it.
October 17, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MSParis2017 Will Look at New MS Diagnosis Criteria, and a Lot More The year’s largest gathering of multiple sclerosis “minds” starts on Oct. 25 in Paris. More than 8,000 neurologists, researchers and others who specialize in treating and curing MS will be attending MSParis2017. It’s a joint meeting of the European and the Americas Committee for Research in Multiple Sclerosis…
October 16, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Myelin repair, and Diets High in Fat or Salt Common Allergy Treatment Restores Protective Neuron Coating in MS, Trial Suggests This is the kind of news we all hope to hear. A treatment that will repair our frayed “wires” and, in doing so, restore some of the function that MS has stolen from us. This is…
October 13, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes Life’s Too Short Both of my sons ā and, if Iām being honest, my husband ā love Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Yes, that horrid stuff that comes in a blue box, the kind that you make with a packet of powdered cheese, milk and butter. Whenever I put some on the table…
October 13, 2017 Columns by John Connor Everything in the Garden Is Now Rosy About 10 years ago, in the days before my MS, I had a whole raft of self-imposed jobs. As a new age man, one of these was doing the washing. Yes, this combated the usual bloke’s role in a heterosexual household, but to counter this, I was very…
October 13, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Specialty Pharmaceuticals Mean Specialty Prices If you have MS, you’ve probably used a specialty drug. My first was Avonex, which I began to use about 1998. Several others followed. There’s no formal definition of a specialty drug, but these therapies have several things in common. First, they’re expensive. According to the vice president in…
October 12, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman MS Alphabet: JC Positive, Kinins, and Other āJā and āKā Words (Editorās note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this column about terms starting with the letters J and K.) Symptoms of MS Kyphosis More commonly referred to as āhunchbackā or ādowagerās hump,ā kyphosis is a term that refers to an outward curvature of…
October 12, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Good Days and Not-So-Good Days with Multiple Sclerosis Some days are easier than others, and some days are just not easy at all. Today I find myself in the latter of the two. Itās Monday morning, and my Sunday was insane: insanely busy, insanely fun, and insanely difficult. While…
October 12, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Did You Wash Your Hands? Iāve been at a conference the last few days where scholars from around the world are discussing health literacy. Itās a subject much more complicated than just wondering at what level a person might read, or if they can read at all. Itās also a discipline rooted in…
October 11, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn MS and Employment: Asking for Reasonable Accommodations For those of us in the workforce, our MS can sometimes make a workday challenging. The Americans with Disabilities Act allows for an employee to request reasonable accommodationsĀ from their employer.Ā Included in the act are three broad accommodation categories. One focuses on the hiring process, and…
October 10, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson The Chosen Ones We are familiar with the “why me” moments? I reference this often because it is a recurring subject in the lives of people with chronic illness. As a little girl Iād ask my parents whyĀ my heart is sick, and as an adult, I still ask why have I…
October 9, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Lemtrada, Copaxone Generic, ATL1102 Trial, and Brain Stimulation Lemtrada Prevented Progression of Multiple Sclerosis for Five Years, Study Shows Full disclosure: I’m being treated with Lemtrada, so any news about it lights up my radar like a Christmas tree. I’m 10 months post-round 1 and am doing well ā and this news looks like it’s…
October 6, 2017 Columns by John Connor I Don’t Know What It’s Called, But I Like It It looks like a dog’s leash, but it isn’t. I put in “dog’s lead” and “disabled apparatus” into my first Google search and fittingly was taken down into a rabbit’s warren of equipment for psychically challenged dogs. Who knew? It’s a nifty bit of kit for moving your leg…
October 6, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Therapy That Just Might Beat MS Fatigue I’ve had a cold for two weeks. So, I’ve been more tired than usual. Too tired, in fact, to write the column that was supposed to post last Tuesday. (I apologize to all of you who wait, with bated breath, for the appearance of the MS Wire each…
October 5, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Canine Companionship and Multiple Sclerosis I am an avid dog lover and very involved in volunteering with the golden retriever rescue here in Southern California. On any given day, you will find my 8-year-old rescue, Abby, here along with two to three other happy golden retrievers. I may have Ā rescued Abby physically, but there…
October 5, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Discovering MS Research When talking about MS research, we tend to focus on drug development because improved therapies, and even the cure for MS, will come from pharmaceuticals. But what do we know about other MS research that doesnāt involve taking a pill or enduring an injection? Iām talking about those…
October 2, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Combating Muscle Weakness Associated with MS Sometimes walking, even with an assistance device, can be very challenging because of the extreme muscle weakness that I experience. The slow, off-balanced gait that has been my constant companion for many years prior to my 2010 multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis is definitely on the decline. Accepting the…
October 2, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Scooter-User Falls, Aggressive Treatment, and Brain Inflammation Falls Common Among Wheelchair, Scooter Users in People with MS, Study Reports It’s happened to me. I’ve gone over backwardĀ when I tried to “gun” the throttle of my lightweight scooter when its rear wheels were up against a door threshold. And my heavier scooter can have a…
September 29, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes Shanah Tovah: Celebrating Each Year of Your MS Journey I became a Christian when I was 8, and though Iāve wrestled with my faith at various points in my life, Iāve never once doubted my decision to follow Christ. Multiple sclerosis didnāt change this fact in the slightest. In fact, my illness made my faith stronger and…