January 16, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: COVID-19, Gut Bacteria, Remyelination, Stem Cells Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Could COVID-19 trigger MS? Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been scattered reports of people who’ve developed neurological disorders,…
January 13, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Flares, Relapses, Exacerbations: How Much Do You Know? “I was told I’m in a flare-up,” a newly diagnosed person with multiple sclerosis (MS) wrote to a Facebook group the other day. She said the flare-up had been going on “for a while now” and wondered when she could expect it to calm down. After I pondered…
January 11, 2023 Columns by Beth Ullah With an Epilepsy Diagnosis, I Face Another Battle With Chronic Illness āThe secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.ā ā Dan Millman I’m now living with multiple chronic illnesses. Lately, time has been rushing past like a ravenous flood, or standing still like a lonesome statue. In…
January 10, 2023 Columns by Jamie Hughes Time Is (and Isnāt) on Your Side: How MS Helps Us Know What Matters One of my favorite episodes of āI Love Lucyā is the one where Lucy and Ethel get up to some hijinks (and donāt they always?) in a candy factory. You know the one. At first, the bonbons come down the belt slowly, each one easy to wrap. But…
January 9, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: PoNS Online, Foralumab, Masitinib, Gaslighting Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Tongue stimulator now easier to obtain A Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) is a mouthpiece that mildly stimulates nerves in the tongue that…
January 6, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias FDA Approval of Ublituximab, Now Briumvi, Is Good News The new year is bringing a new disease-modifying therapy (DMT) to the multiple sclerosis (MS) arsenal. Shortly after Christmas, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Briumvi (ublituximab), which joins a small group of DMTs that aim to halt MS progression by knocking out certain…
January 5, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister How I Respond to Typical Questions About MS From Children, Adults As Iāve probably mentioned before, my wife and I have three boys in grade school. This means that between school events, sports, and play dates, Iām around a lot of kids. Considering I use a wheelchair, my multiple sclerosis (MS) isnāt exactly invisible, so I’m often asked…
January 2, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Could Your Hip Pain Be Related to Your MS Steroid Treatments? My hips have hurt for several years. Right now, it’s just a dull ache. But there have been times when it has been a shooting pain. Hip pain isn’t necessarily connected to your multiple sclerosis (MS), but it could be. It might be caused by alterations in your…
December 29, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister This New Year, I Resolve to Let Myself Hope The new year is just a few days away, so if you haven’t already, you might want to start thinking about resolutions, if you’re so inclined. Although I personally don’t bother these days, about half of American adults do, although that number is declining. One study suggests that…
December 27, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes I Am What I Am: Embracing the Highs and Lows of MS If thereās one thing those of us who have multiple sclerosis (MS) know all too well, itās that life requires balance. Fellow columnists and I have written about the need to find a happy medium when it comes to mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
December 23, 2022 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell I’m Giving Myself the Gift of Grace This Christmas The ballerina twirls in the late afternoon light. As if on cue, Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” suite begins to play. I’mĀ lost in the dimly lit ornaments as my mind wanders. I fall into a deep nostalgia. My mind is a montage of Christmases past. My 6-year-old self follows my dad as we…
December 22, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister ”Twas the Night Before Christmas’: A Multiple Sclerosis Parody The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year. Multiple sclerosis (MS), of course, has a way of sucking the joy out of anything, but it can’t have my family’s Christmas. I might miss sleeping in, but our three boys have really brought the magic…
December 19, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Brain Stimulation, Bright Light, ABA-101, Foralumab Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Possible nonmedicinal treatment for fatigue, spasticity, pain Wouldn’t it be nice to find a treatment that helps people with MS handle three…
December 16, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Stress and MS Are Bad Companions, So Take It Easy This Holiday Season My condo was hit by Hurricane Ian in October. Less than a month later, it was hit again by Tropical Storm Nicole. I have a dog whose bark is shattering and a cat who likes to bite. The car dealer can’t find the title for the…
December 12, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: DMT Costs, Copaxone, EBV, Rituximab Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Is cost a factor when deciding DMT use? Cost may be the elephant in the room when people with MS are…
December 9, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias ‘Time Is Brain’: Managing Brain Atrophy With MS This is one of my “nobody ever told me that” columns. I was amazed when I read a comment from one of my “MS Wire” readers recently about brain shrinkage. “I’ve had MS since 2011. I had no idea about brain shrinkage,” she wrote. I guess I shouldn’t have…
December 8, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Being Able to Laugh at Yourself Is Vital When Living With MS I had a glass of wine thrown in my face on the evening of my wedding anniversary. I was taken completely by surprise ā well, maybe not completely. After all, the person who threw it has a reputation for that sort of thing. I was pretty irritated, though, because a…
December 7, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah How I Plan to Have a Cracking Christmas With MS As an adult, it hasn’t been easy for me to get into the Christmas spirit. Planning festivities and buying gifts don’t come naturally to me. Perhaps it’s because adult life never ends, whereas as a student, I had holiday breaks that signified the beginning of the season, allowing me to…
December 6, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes ‘What’s the Worst That Can Happen?’: On Facing Fears With MS Well, dear readers, I finally did it. The recital Iāve been telling you about finally took place after several long delays and a good bit of scrambling, and all those singing lessons were finally put on display for a public audience. Iād like to tell you I stepped…
December 5, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Sexual Dysfunction, Bladder Problems, AI, and More Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: A medication that may ease sexual problems for women with MS Sexual dysfunction is common among people with MS, affecting up…
December 2, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Are the MS Stages Still Useful in a Diagnosis? What’s in a name? Does it really matter if your multiple sclerosis (MS) is called relapsing or progressive, or secondary rather than primary? I’ve never thought so, and the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS agrees with me. The panel is calling for new methods…
November 28, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Climate Change, MS Progression, Brain Shrinkage Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās happening: Study reports climate change makes MS symptoms worse Climate change may lead to more perils than rising oceans, harsher storms, and melting ice…
November 25, 2022 Columns by John Connor The World Cup of Football ā or Is It Soccer? ā Offers an Escape From MS In the five years I’ve been tapping away at this multiple sclerosis (MS) column for MS News Today, Iāve so far written during one FIFA World Cup. My oft used trope is that “itās football, not soccer,” for our many U.S. readers. That is, at least, how…
November 25, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias Dr. Amazon Takes a Third Jab at Medical Care For the past few years, the company that brings us everything from books to basketballs has been experimenting with doing the same with medical care. Of course, it’s Amazon. In 2018, the company launched a project called Haven in partnership with a pair of financial giants, with the goal…
November 22, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Sweeter Than Honey: Finding the Balance That Works for You Iām a fairly neat and tidy person, but you wouldnāt have thought that if youād looked in my kitchen over the last few weeks. Bottles of oils, jars full of melted wax, bags of butters and soaps, and boxes were scattered everywhere. My husband is a beekeeper, and…
November 21, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Stem Cell Therapy, EBV Vaccine, Diabetes, Diets Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s happening: Understanding stem cell therapy Researchers in Zurich wanted to understand what happens to the immune system of a person with MS undergoing a…
November 18, 2022 Columns by John Connor The Catch-22 of Dealing With Medical Bureaucracy First off, let me apologize for my penchant for using hip literary references. Not everyone is aware of Joseph Heller’s seminal satirical novel published in 1961, which spawned the book’s title of “Catch-22” as a quick-fire phrase to describe anything that is nearly impossible to get out of. Our…
November 18, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias The MS Hug: A Frightening Embrace You’d Rather Not Have In the 42 years that I’ve lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) I’m glad that I’ve only been hugged twice. I’m talking about the MS hug, and it wasn’t fun. This MS symptomĀ can feel like pressure or pain around the chest, back, or stomach, and it can be…
November 17, 2022 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Striking a Balance Between Self-pity and Giving Yourself Grace They say that if you happen upon other people talking about you, you shouldnāt listen in. I have no idea who ātheyā are. Iāve searched for a quote to give someone the proper credit, but have had no luck. The most likely scenario that comes to mind is that I…
November 14, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News Notes: Foralumab, ATA188, Precision Care, PoNS Trial Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s happening: Could a nasal spray join the MS treatment arsenal? Shots, pills, and infusions are approved in the U.S. as disease-modifying therapies for MS,…