November 27, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Vumerity, herpes virus, caregivers Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at some of whatās been happening: A good report for Vumerity Final results are in from the EVOLVE-MS-1 clinical trial for patients with…
November 24, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias What it was like attending a Queen concert with a mobility aid For someone with multiple sclerosis (MS), going to a venue to see a concert or sporting event can be an experience filled with uncertainty ā especially if, like me, they’re using a mobility aid. For me to do it, I have to ask myself several questions: How will I…
November 20, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: COVID-19, MS blood tests Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at some of whatās been happening. MS relapses and COVID-19 Since COVID-19 became a concern over three years ago, I’ve read many comments…
November 17, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias What I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving It wasn’t a good morning. I was dragging my cement-pillar legs around the kitchen and grew frustrated as I lurched from the refrigerator to the counter to feed the cat and the dog. I’d propped my two canes against the counter, but they’d slid to the floor ā not once,…
November 13, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: ATA188, biomarkers for MS progression Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: ATA188 fails a big test ATA188 is an experimental cell therapy developed by Atara BiotherapeuticsĀ aimed at easing MS…
November 6, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Stem cell transplant, artificial intelligence Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Lemtrada or stem cell transplant? While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved stem cell transplants…
November 3, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias My bladder is doing much better these days, but why? I slept through the night last night. Recently, I’ve managed to do that on most nights. No 4 a.m. bathroom trips for me! That’s a big deal. There was a time when I’d get up two or even three times during the night for a bladder run. Sleeping seven or…
October 30, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Dalfampridine, Neural Sleeve, vitamin D Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Dalfampridine side effects The side effects that might occur if you use dalfampridine (sold under the brand name Ampyra)…
October 27, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Drawn back to the Sunshine State, where my MS symptoms feel better I’m back in my happy place. My wife, Laura, and I, along with our Yorkie-poo and our Maine Coon cat, have made it back to our Florida home after 16 hours and about 1,000 miles of driving over two days. There were no traffic jams, we had a comfortable motel…
October 23, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: EBV, stopping a DMT, 3 treatment reports Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. This week, the stories cover research presented at the joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and the…
October 20, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Musicians living with MS find inspiration in their conditions “Iām so tiredThe hammerās coming down againIām hardwiredAll the signals cross and double backBroken insideThereās no fixing anythingHow do i explainIām fighting every day to do the simple things?” The lyrics to “Hammer,” written by singer Susie Ulrey and the band Pohgoh,…
October 16, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Ocrevus injection, Tysabri scheduling, OCH for SPMS Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. This week, the stories cover research presented at the joint meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and the…
October 13, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias A breakdown has me scouting out new scooters for my MS My mobility scooter died last week. I can walk 100 feet or so using a pair of canes, but my wheels are usually my legs. So when I turned the key and discovered those “legs” were powerless, I was in a bind. This breakdown couldn’t have happened at a worse…
October 9, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Silent progression, ignoring treatments Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: ‘Silent’ MS progression Readers of the MS News Today website and Facebook page sometimes wonder why their MS…
October 6, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias People with disabilities should be part of equity in healthcare You’d think that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other disabilities would have easy access to healthcare services. That’s not always so. A small study in the journal Health Affairs that I wrote aboutĀ last year said many physicians āexpressed explicit bias toward people with disabilities and described…
October 2, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Stem cell transplant, Lemtrada, treating seniors Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Stem cell transplant found to be safe, effective in recent study Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) has been…
September 29, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias What you need to know about COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines My wife and I got the latest COVID-19 vaccine the other day, the first of three vaccines we’ll be getting this fall. The others are the seasonal flu vaccine and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. This was my sixth COVID-19 vaccine, and I’ve received a…
September 25, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: ANK-700, traveling for treatment, cognition Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: An ‘inverse vaccine’ trial to treat MS What’s an “inverse vaccine,” you might ask? While traditional vaccines rev up…
September 22, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Have you struggled to find a neurologist who understands MS? A question that’s been bothering me lately is this: It seems that more than a few neurologists have a less than optimal understanding of multiple sclerosis (MS). Why is that?Ā In my four decades of living with MS, and during the several years I’ve written this column…
September 18, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Vaccines, migraines, eye-tracking technology Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Vaccines pose no unusual risk of MS hospitalization, study says It’s time for me to get my seasonal flu shot,…
September 15, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias I may be stressed out, but my MS doesn’t know about it Lightning struck at 3 a.m. the other night. The alarm system in my apartment blared ā beep, beep, beep ā for hours. The dog was barking, the cat was zooming, and I wasn’t sleeping. My stress meter was off the scale. We know that stress can trigger of…
September 11, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Bowel symptoms, MS blood test, diet study Note: This column was updated Sept. 12, 2023, to correct that Octave’s MSDA blood test is currently available and in use throughout the U.S. Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look…
September 8, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Let’s not get overexcited about any mouse study used in research Mice exaggerate and monkeys lie, some researchers jokingly say. (Or is it the other way around?) Testing on rodents and animals is a typical early step in creating medications, and Multiple Sclerosis News Today publishes news articles about many of these studies. It’s interesting to read what researchers are…
September 5, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Diagnosing PPMS, NB-4746, Neubie stimulation Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: PPMS is difficult to diagnose, report says Most people who have multiple sclerosis start out with a diagnosis of…
September 1, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias The 1st biosimilar OK’d as an MS DMT should save patients money The late August approval of Tyruko (natalizumab-sztn) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is big news in the multiple sclerosis (MS) world. Tyruko is a biosimilar for Tysabri (natalizumab), and it’s the first biosimilar to gain FDA approval as an MS disease-modifying therapy…
August 28, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Spasticity, early treatment, pediatric onset Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Can noninvasive brain stimulation reduce MS spasticity? For a long time, I’ve had to deal with spasticity, a common…
August 25, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias My scooter, my grandkids, and a cave: What could go wrong? My wife, Laura, thought it would be fun to take our grandkids, ages 7 and 9, to spend a few hours exploring a giant cave. I wasn’t so sure. Ten minutes into the excursion, I was wondering which one of the adults would be hauled out in an ambulance. This…
August 21, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Measuring the cost of MS, early treatment, Pilates Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: MS is costly to patients and society People with MS understand how costly the disease can be in terms of…
August 18, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias A topical reminder to prepare for a disaster while living with MS By now, I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures of the wildfires that charred Maui, Hawaii. As I write this, a week after the blaze, The Associated Press reports that more than 100 people have been killed, and the governor expects “scores more.” Some neighborhoods are gone. People literally…
August 14, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias MS news notes: Biomarkers, cow’s milk, EBV vaccine Welcome to āMS News Notes,ā a column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Hereās a look at whatās been happening: Is it MS or something else? Should all autoimmune diseases that damage myelin be called MS? Probably not, according…