Columns

Action Is Needed: Costs Limit MS Patients’ Access to DMTs

A recent survey of more than 6,000Ā multiple sclerosis patients in the United States found that health insurance coverage can decide their access toĀ disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), and that that coverage is worsening, leaving a good numberĀ struggling to be able to pay for their treatment. As an MS patient myself, I find…

‘My Super Diet Cured My MS! Buy My Book!’

There seems to be general agreement that achieving and keeping an overallĀ level of good health is very important for people living with multiple sclerosis, or with any chronic illness for that matter. And one way to reach that goal, many will say, is to eatĀ a healthy, well-balanced diet. Itā€™s at…

Patients Need To Know What Drugs Do Inside Our Bodies

Oral therapy Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) seems to be emerging as a first-line treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis ā€“ according to Biogen, the company that developed it. Thatā€™s good news, and something we need to know. The company agrees that for some time, the long-term effectiveness and safety of this oral…

Have Your Say About Disease Modifying Therapies for RRMS

You have just one week from today to have your say about the effectiveness of various disease modifying therapies (DMT) used to treat relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Public comments are welcome in response to an early draft paper that is planned to be the basis for…

MS Patient’s Pick of the Week’s News

Developments of treatments for MS dominate my pick of the week’s news in MS News Today. Included isĀ aĀ vaccine and a new oral drug. Vaccine to Treat Multiple Sclerosis Showing Promise and Soon to Enter Phase 3 Clinical Testing This is something a bit different because,Ā usually vaccines are designed to…

To Fight MS, Drink Four Cups of Coffee a Day?

Ready to fight MS? Well, you can start first thing every day. So, how do you start your day ā€” a coffee maybe, or a great cup of tea? Tea is my choice but I also enjoy a magnificent cup of Spanish coffee. According to a number of recent studies,Ā coffeeĀ and…

Engaging Thoughts

Editor’s Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today welcomesĀ Laura Kolaczkowski to our team of Patient Specialists and MS bloggers. As you will read in her introductory post below, Laura brings to her new column a wealth of Multiple Sclerosis related insights, both as a patient and activist/advocate for raising awareness and research…

MS Patients Need a Drug Therapy Without Awful Side Effects

Never having been offered, let alone received any disease modifying therapy, I can address the subject of disease modifying therapies, and their side effects, with complete impartiality. Of course, the reason for the lack of any medication is because none has yet been approved for use with MS patients who…

MS is Linked to Glandular Fever, I Have No Doubt

In my mind, MS is linked to glandular fever. From personal experience, there is no room for doubt of any kind. Trouble is, though, that my experience and belief is not proof. And that is why I find that efforts to establish a definite link between glandular fever, often known…

MS Weekly News Review ā€“ June 20

Welcome to our very first weekly news review. Starting today, it is the intention to use the Monday column of this blog to cast a look back at the previous weekā€™s editorial content of this MS site. In particular, weā€™ll be looking at the wide range of topics covered and…

Optic Neuritis in MS So Difficult To See

Optic neuritis is one of the symptoms of which those of us who live with multiple sclerosis on a daily basis know can set us apart from others. We are fully, and often painfully, aware that everyone is different. We all experience a different array of symptoms to similarly different…

Alone with MS? Ā Are You? Really?

Am I alone with MS? I do wonder that, sometimes; at those times of fatigue and frustration when the darkness envelopes you. When you pound the floor having fallen again; when you curse this monster inside you; and when you cry out ā€œWhy me?ā€ But, of course, I am not…

Medical Cannabis Has a Role to Play in MS Treatment

Medical cannabis is subject to laws relating to the growing, possession, transport, and use of marijuana. These vary from country to country and, in the United States, from state to state. There are also differences between marijuana for general and recreational use and for the same product for medical use.

Stem Cell MS Patients Lead Normal Life Thanks To aHSCT Procedure

People with MS who were involved in a long-term clinical trial are out and about enjoying a full and normal life with no signs of the disease. This follows their recovery from the stem cell transplants involving aggressive chemotherapy, or aHSCT as the procedure is known. Results of the clinical…

MS life expectancy discussed but not all treatments considered

When talking about how treatments affect MS life expectancy, itā€™s wrong to leave out HSCT. Sorry, but itā€™s just plain wrong. How can anyone write a supposedly authoritative article about MS and life expectancy, talk about modifying how the disease affects people who have it, yet totally ignore potentially the…

Is MS hereditary? Yes, According to New Study

Some forms of multiple sclerosis are hereditary after all. After many years of saying that MS is not passed down the generations, new research now says the opposite. Although past studies have suggested that genetic risk factors could increase the risk of developing the disease, upĀ until now, there has been…

MS is a lonely road. No kidding!

Being lonely can be very difficult to define as it is not only the popularly assumed situation of being alone. You can be lonely in a room full of people if you donā€™t know anyone well enough to speak to them; conversely, you can be happy when alone, in your…

ā€˜MS Does Not Remitā€™ ā€“ Call to Change RRMS Name to Relapsing MS

MS does not remit and the out dated term causes many people to delay taking medication, says Dr Patricia Coyle, Founder and Director ofĀ Stony Brook’sĀ MS Comprehensive Care Center. Dr. Patricia Coyle. Last week, at the CMSC Annual Meeting in Maryland, during a live-streamed presentation covered byĀ Multiple SclerosisĀ News Today, she…