May 8, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: Cannabis Gum, Ocrevus, Misdiagnosis and Other Stories The MS Wire is adding a third weekly item, beginning today. It’s a list of several news items that appeared in MS News Today over the preceding week and that caught my eye. Axim Signs Deal to Advance Clinical Trials of Cannabis-based MedChew Rx Gum to…
May 5, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Disability Activism Beats Doing Housework I now introduce myself as a disability rights activist. I began to pay attention to local politics and related activities last fall. Our city redevelopment plans are charging along, without any city staffer to pay attention to the needs of the disabled. As such, I’ve been making the…
May 5, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias NYC Subways: A Tough Ride With MS Have you ever been on a New York City subway? I grew up in the Big Apple, and I used to love riding the subway as a kid. I’d travel all over the city without a problem. Not so today. Not so since MS changed my track.
May 3, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Unsure Which Way to Turn? Let an MS Navigator Guide You A few years ago, after a fairly stable decade, my MS decided to shake things up. What began as occasional tripping over my own feet soon turned into chronic shin splints, and the inability to walk or drive far, all of which was caused by MS foot drop.
May 3, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight How Pilates Changed My Life ⦠and My MS, Part One: Take No Prisoner Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series about Pilates and MS. When I was diagnosed with MS in December 2013, my most visible symptom was a waltzing shuffle that was slowly changing my once-purposeful gait into a wobble (leading some co-workers to believe…
May 2, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: Do You Think You’re Walking Better? “Do you think you’re walking better?” The question came from my wife, Laura. It’s now about 4 1/2 months since my first round of Lemtrada infusions and I’ve had ups and downs physically. The day she asked, I was feeling pretty good. I also think I’ve been…
May 1, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Calming the Hidden Beast of Silent Inflammation The inflammation in our bodies can be very sneaky. I am not talking about the good inflammation, also known as the group of hormones called eicosanoids (eye-KAH-sa-noids). This group of hormones provoke our immune system to fight diseases, viruses and other invaders and help in repairing tissues…
April 28, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Small Study Shows Unexpected Reversal of Some MS Symptoms I don’t usually write about drug studies, especially ones that are tiny and preliminary. But an unexpected result has peaked my interest in this one. Researchers at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia report that half of the progressive MS patients in their study of…
April 27, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Crossing MS PATHS ā and Taking a Stand for Patient Rights I knew it was only a matter of time before my MS neurologist would have MS PATHS available to collect clinical data from people who have agreed to participate. MS PATHS is an information- and biological sample-gathering clinical study from Biogen, the leading manufacturer of multiple sclerosis disease-modifying…
April 27, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman Latest Research Bolsters My Confidence in Using Tecfidera Many life-affecting decisions are made at the time of an MS diagnosis. Top of the list? The moment you decideĀ your course of treatment. In my case, the decision wasĀ entirely up to me. This isn’t typical, I’ve discovered. Many people with MS aren’t…
April 26, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes 39 Years and Counting ā on at Least 39 More Great Ones Last week, I celebrated by 39th birthday. Yes, 39. Thatās one year shy of the big 4-0. The last year of my 30s. If life was a rollercoaster ride, Iām about six clicks from the apex; the big plunge awaits me just on the other side. I looked…
April 26, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester Why the Future of Science Is Crucial to the MS Community Everything around us, and within us, begins with science. Science is important to the future of humanityās well-being. Science is what makes the world go around. We all think itās love, but actually, at its core, love begins with chemistry. Biological…
April 25, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Chronic Illness and End-of-Life Decisions: Who are We to Judge? For those who read my column, I am certain you can see I am an emotional writer. This is a difficult column to write. I have been thinking about end-of-life decisions for months. I am reminded of my mortality each time I visit the hospital and I’m asked…
April 25, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS, Wheelchairs, Walkers and Guns: Are They Safe Together? When I began writing about multiple sclerosis, I never imagined that, one day, I’d be writing a column about guns. But here I am, staring right into that barrel. The other day as I cruised around MS websites, I ran across a post from a woman who was…
April 24, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Hypothyroidism and What It Shares with MS In 2004, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a condition in which theĀ thyroid is underactive and doesn’t product enough important hormones. Six years later, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā Naturally, I became curious as to whether a link might exist between between hypothyroidism and MS. I am…
April 21, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD The Cluttered Consequences of Multiple Sclerosis Fatigue Multiple sclerosis causes debilitating fatigue. The following photographs show,Ā without censorship, what my fatigue leaves undone. The homes of everyone I know have living rooms without sweaters tossed over the back of chairs. Their floors are not an obstacle course. They do not have piles of mail, notes, drills,…
April 21, 2017 Columns by John Connor A Very Hip Story: ‘The Shower That Ate Me’ It was three years since I’d seen my best mate Nigel. The last time had been when we said goodbye at London City Airport after our three-day sozzled sojourn (OK, drunken trip) round the Scottish Isle of Islay. To the uninitiated, a pilgrimage for those who worship peat in their…
April 20, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Canadian Neurologist Traboulsee Reflects on Today’s MS Options The American Academy of Neurology‘sĀ (AAN) 2017 annual meeting will bring together physicians who practice in all areas of neurology, including our own multiple sclerosis (MS) specialists. In a recent interview with Anthony Traboulsee, MD, associate professor and research chair of the MS Society of…
April 20, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: Cytokines, CSF, Corticosteroids and More ‘C’ Words (Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this third of three parts on terms starting with the letter “C.”) When it comes to multiple sclerosis, mastering an understanding of the disease means you need to mind your Ps and Qs, dot your…
April 20, 2017 News by Patricia Silva, PhD AAN Annual Meeting Offers First Ocrevus Data Update Since MS Therapy’s Approval by FDA New data on the recently approved multiple sclerosis (MS) drug Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) will be presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting 2017, which will take place April 22-28 in Boston. The meeting is the first scientific conference focusing on neurology since the U.S.
April 19, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Season of Spring is Analogous to the Cycles of Chronic Illness This past week has been uplifting. The sun was out and the weather was enjoyable. Spring has officially arrived, and I was able to get out and really appreciate the nice days. I did not do much of anything, however, I was out and about. Easter Sunday was…
April 19, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias A Rap Reply for a Guy Who Thinks MS is Too Perplexin’ I’m an old guy, and it’s been a looonnnggg time since I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This, however, is not the case with BJ Baker. BJ is in his late 20s, and was having a very bad day. He was too tired to do a (seemingly) simple…
April 19, 2017 Columns by Mike Knight Getting a Second Opinion: Three Heads ā or More ā are Better Than Two It was my 2015 annual check-in, and my neurologist and I were in the exam room. I was sitting on one of those little stools with wheels, he was leaning across the exam table. We had just finished discussing my steadily worsening symptoms and treatment plan, which consisted…
April 17, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson Address Primary Symptoms to Avoid Secondary Ones Multiple sclerosis is a very complex disease that attacks the central nervous system. The symptoms MS generates are random, affect everyone differently, and are categorized either as primary MS, or secondary MS, symptoms. Primary MS symptoms are the direct result ofĀ the disease itself ā byproducts of the damaged…
April 15, 2017 Columns by John Connor There’s Something Wrong with Both of Us There are a few moments when life changes. In my day, it was meeting your partner across a crowded room. Now it’s sadly the flick of an app. What hasn’t changed is that only later doĀ you realize this really was a moment. This isn’t a story about romance…
April 13, 2017 Columns by Tamara Sellman The MS Alphabet: CIS, Copaxone, Contracture and More ‘C’ Terms (Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this secondĀ of three partsĀ on terms starting with the letter “C.”) When it comes to multiple sclerosis, mastering an understanding of the disease means you need to mind your Ps and Qs, dot your Is, cross your Ts,…
April 13, 2017 Columns by Cathy Chester Why Staying Informed About Multiple Sclerosis is Important A lot has changed in multiple sclerosis research and treatment since I was diagnosedĀ 30 years ago. Here are a few things I was told originally that are no longer true: Thereās less than a 1% chance for a child to inherit their motherās…
April 12, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes Spring is an Apt Time to Reflect on MS and Hope T.S. Eliotās opens his masterwork The Waste Land with four stunning lines of verse: April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixingĀ Memory and desire, stirringĀ Dull roots with spring rain.Ā It seems odd to say that April is…
April 12, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski RMS Patient Using Ocrevus in Trial: ‘I Feel Great’ Pamela Arterbridge is one of 70 people at Ohio State Universityās Multiple Sclerosis Center taking part in the open-label part of aĀ clinical trial for ocrelizumab, nowĀ best known asĀ Ocrevus.Ā She is a patient of Dr. Michael Racke, who is a pioneer in the field of B-cell treatmentsĀ for MS,…
April 11, 2017 Columns by Patricia Silva, PhD Importance of Elevators for Universal Housing You might think that the Fair Housing ActĀ required multifamily buildings to have elevators, but no, it doesn’t. A multifamily dwelling of four units that does not have an elevator is not required to have one. However, the ground floor units must be fully…