Columns

Karen Staman and I met a while back through a National Institute of Health and Duke University research collaborative effort.  She is a scientific writer by trade, which means she sits through lots of conversation and puts everyone else’s thoughts into cohesive sentences that can then be published, and…

In a fair world, reading books would burn the most calories, eating ice cream would be chock-full of antioxidants and vitamins, and no one would have multiple sclerosis. But, like many other people, I have MS and have to live with fatigue, cognitive issues, trouble walking, and so much more…

Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Blood Test Seen to Distinguish MS from Other Neurological Conditions A faster way to tell the difference between neurological diseases could mean earlier access to treatment for MS patients. Researchers at Michigan State…

There can be absolutely no excuse for anyone experiencing the first signs and symptoms of neurological conditions like MS having to wait a long time to see an appropriate specialist, such as a neurologist. Delays in seeing specialists is a complaint often heard from patients in various countries, and it…

The CVS Caremark covered insurance plan has dropped Avonex, Plegridy and Extavia, three multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapies, from their 2017 formulary. You say, OK, but what does that really mean? If your prescription insurance is through CVS Caremark, and you want one of those drugs or one…

News that scientists in the U.S. are working to find a new pre-HSCT treatment to carry out stem cell transplants without the need for chemotherapy, as published in Multiple Sclerosis News Today, leaves me with mixed feelings. While such a development could potentially be great news and an…

Feeling tired?  No surprise there.  Fatigue is as much a part of living with Multiple Sclerosis as sand is a part of the beach where I live. It’s interesting, then, that neurologists seem to have no good system for measuring levels of MS fatigue or any treatments that are…

Editor’s Note: MS Patient Specialist and Columnist Judy Lynn writes from her unique and engaging perspective as an MS patient reflecting on the challenges that the disease presents and how to cope with them in her daily life. In her debut article for her new Column “You’ve Got Some Nerves,”…

Editor’s Note: Debi Wilson’s column “Faith of the Mustard Seed” explores a range of important topics that relate directly to the patient experience. In her debut article, she discusses her own experiences with neurologists, and encourages MS to not settle on a specialist until they feel as though their…

  You want to help find answers about multiple sclerosis but don’t know how, and I hear your frustration about being unable to contribute in meaningful ways. Let me share with you the news that REAL MS (Research Engagement About Life with MS) was launched this summer, and I…

Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Best First-Line Treatment for Aggressive MS May Be Equally Aggressive Immunotherapies Sounds like “Fight fire with fire” to me; could be just what is needed. Patients with aggressive onset multiple sclerosis, characterized…

Flight is freedom in its purest form, To dance with the clouds which follow a storm; To roll and glide, to wheel and spin, To feel the joy that swells within; To leave the earth…

Here is my Pick of the Week’s News, from articles published on Multiple Sclerosis News Today.  Antioxidant Therapies Seen as Promising Approach in Treating MS and Like Diseases Maybe antioxidant research could provide another avenue of MS therapy. A review article published in the British…

This idea is so simple. But it has been overlooked for years until the partners of Gray Consulting, a Philadelphia firm, connected the dots and developed a better way to engage and retain people in clinical trials.  Scott Gray, CEO, took time out to speak with me about…

Waking up in the morning and facing the world brings a sense of wonder. Not in the sense of awe, just in wondering how MS will affect me today. Is it a good day or a bad day? What will it bring? Like most people,…

Stem cell clinics are proliferating in the U.S., where there are now 570 in operation, according to a paper quoted by the New York Times. And concerns are being raised that these clinics are often operating and making claims beyond those allowed by the country’s public health regulatory…

Do you take your drugs as they are prescribed?  It turns out a lot of us don’t and that is a concern to the people in charge of our healthcare dollars. The California Association of  Health Plans estimates that costs for prescription for chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid…

  Do you remember when you applied for a handicapped license plate? I put it off for quite a while after I was diagnosed. After all, I could walk several city blocks fairly easily. I could still play a little tennis. Why did I need to park in a…

Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, from stories published on Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Nearly 75% of MS Patients in UK Study Went Through Progressive Decline Prior to Death Very few people living with MS or anyone close by affected by the disease can really…

  We may have international cooperation and worldwide this and that, but the fact remains that countries vary drastically from one another in all sorts of ways. Take healthcare as an example, and the costs of treatment. Yes, we have the World Health Organization and there are various health-related initiatives…

Remyelination at the moment is the buzzword to beat all buzzwords in the world of research into, and treatment for, the vicious disease that is multiple sclerosis. Now, as you are reading this, you must have some knowledge of MS and are sure to know about the link between the…

Now they tell me! People diagnosed with what is termed as benign MS can benefit from disease modifying drugs (DMDs), according to a new study. Fourteen years ago, when diagnosed as having MS, the neurologist told me that it was benign. He said it had taken 25 years to progress…

An entry in the comments section of Multiple Sclerosis News Today caught my attention a couple of weeks ago, and peaked my interest. It was a personal tale of one woman’s journey from being paralyzed and told that her condition was “between you and God” to being able to walk again, thanks to HSCT.

Can we all agree that research studies are important and they are necessary to prove whether a concept works or it doesn’t? Even from the biggest failures, we can learn more. We can also all agree that research has to be done via properly conducted studies to be accepted as…

Editor’s Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today is pleased to welcome Ed Tobias to our team of Patient Specialists and Columnists. Ed brings a wealth of journalistic experience to his new column, “The MS Wire,” which explores the latest science and research news for multiple sclerosis from a patient’s perspective. Follow “The…

Here’s my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Nanobionic Clothing Seen to Help Clear Body of Free Radicals Associated with MS and Other Diseases A recent study in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry…

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

There seems to be general agreement that achieving and keeping an overall 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 eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. It’s at…

Do you have any strong feelings about worms? No, not earthworms you find in the garden, or even roundworms or tapeworms that can sometimes be found in animals and humans. What I am talking about is purposely being infected with parasitic worms. OK, it may not be as gross as…

We wait in anticipation for multiple sclerosis (MS) drugs to clear Phase 3 clinical trials and get to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval, but I honesty knew little of the process that takes place before the large-scale testing of drugs in Phase 3. I was selected to…