The MS Wire – A Column by Ed Tobias

Ed Tobias is a retired broadcast journalist.  Most of his 40+ year career was spent as a manager with the Associated Press in Washington, DC.  Tobias was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1980 but he continued to work, full-time, meeting interesting people and traveling to interesting places, until retiring at the end of 2012.

In his weekly column The MS Wire, Ed covers a wide range of topics related to the disease, seeking to bring to light patient perspectives on the latest science, research and disease management news, as well as connecting with fellow MS patients about their own personal experiences in coping with the disease.

April 17, 2018April 16, 2018

I Hope My MS Treatments Are Done for Good

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

With apologies to Edgar Allan Poe, quoth the Lemmie, “Nevermore.” As I write this, the final brown bag of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) has just begun to drip ... Read more

April 16, 2018April 16, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: New Lemtrada Side Effect, MS Cooling Vests, and Drug Infection Risks

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis Linked to Lemtrada Use in RRMS Patients, FDA Reports The makers of Lemtrada have added the possibility of another serious side effect to ... Read more

April 13, 2018April 11, 2018

MS Forums Section Added to MS News Today: Join Our Conversation

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Do you have a question or comment about MS? Can you answer someone else’s question? We’ve just created an MS Forums section on Multiple Sclerosis News ... Read more

April 10, 2018April 9, 2018

Lemtrada Round 2: My Drip Stops Here

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

As you read this, I likely will be in the middle of, or finished with, my second round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab). Hopefully, this will be the ... Read more

April 9, 2018April 8, 2018

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Online Meditation, Coordination of MS Care, a Walking Drug Test, Stopping Your DMT

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Online Meditation Course Seen to Help MS Patients Manage Symptoms in Clinical Trial Can someone use a website to learn how to meditate, and then do ... Read more

April 6, 2018April 5, 2018

Do Online Medical Records Make You Worry?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

A few weeks ago I warned of the dangers that are possible when people turn to social media for information about their MS. But there’s another ... Read more

March 27, 2018March 26, 2018

Is MS Keeping Me from Smelling the Roses?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

For years, my wife and I have disagreed about smells. She smells something and I don’t. I tell her that her nose is too sensitive. She ... Read more

March 26, 2018March 26, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Stem Cells, Sense of Smell, Cannabis Guide

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Blood Stem Cell Transplants Improve RRMS Patients’ Disability, Phase 3 Trial Shows Here’s yet another study that shows the benefits of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or ... Read more

March 23, 2018March 22, 2018

It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Get Our MS Medications

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I got a phone call from my MS One to One nurse, Lynn, today. One to One is the patient support service provided by Sanofi Genzyme ... Read more

March 20, 2018March 19, 2018

These Bills Could Help You Save Money on Prescription Medications

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

As we all know, the cost of prescription medications can be outrageous. Disease-modifying therapies aside, even with insurance, the medications we get from a pharmacy can ... Read more

March 19, 2018March 19, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: PPMS Treatments, Myelin Repair, the Blood-brain Barrier, Sunlight

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

New Spherix Report Finds PPMS Treatment Increased Significantly in Past Year Primary progressive MS has, in some eyes, been the stepchild of the disease-modifying therapies. PPMS ... Read more

March 16, 2018March 15, 2018

Too Much Buzz over that Study About Eating Fish and MS?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I’m not a fish eater. I never have been. Unless the seafood is lobster, shrimp, clams, or crab cakes (pickin’ the crabs is too much work), ... Read more

March 13, 2018March 12, 2018

MS Can Be a Kids’ Disease, Too (Part 2)

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

After I wrote about pediatric MS earlier this month, a reader commented: “I think it would behoove your editorship to follow up to address to audiences…symptoms ... Read more

March 12, 2018March 12, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Zinbryta, Fish Oil, MS Associate Certification, Blood-brain Barrier

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Biogen and AbbVie Voluntarily Withdraw Marketing Authorizations for MS Therapy Zinbryta You may have heard about this already, so forgive me if it’s not new to ... Read more

March 9, 2018March 8, 2018

Getting Cash Back for Choosing Medical Services

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

You know about credit cards that offer you cash back for the items you buy. How about getting cash back for selecting specific healthcare service providers ... Read more

March 6, 2018March 6, 2018

MS Can Be a Kids’ Disease, Too

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

The age at which a person is diagnosed with MS is usually between 20 and 50, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. But it can ... Read more

March 5, 2018March 5, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Epstein-Barr Virus, Gilenya, Naltrexone, Medical Marijuana

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Epstein-Barr Virus Found in Brain Cells of Many MS Patients, Study Reports This study is yet another of several over the years that have suggested that ... Read more

February 27, 2018February 27, 2018

What’s Hot and What’s Not Among MS Therapies?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

The newest kids on the MS block, disease-modifying therapies (DMT) such as Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), are attracting a lot of interest ... Read more

February 26, 2018February 26, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mediterranean Diet, Medical Marijuana, Ocrevus, Myelin Repair

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Pilot Study Is Testing Whether Mediterranean Diet Can Help MS Patients There’s been a good deal of news recently about the possibility that bacteria in our ... Read more

February 23, 2018February 22, 2018

How Bad Are Proposed Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

My knee was jerking the other day. It wasn’t my MS, it was my knee-jerk reaction to the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of ... Read more

February 20, 2018February 19, 2018

Looking for Healthcare Answers on the Internet Can Drive You Nuts

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I know, I know. I write about health issues on the internet, so I shouldn’t be discouraging people from looking for answers here. But, searching the ... Read more

February 19, 2018February 19, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Stem Cell Trial, Medical Marijuana, Myelin Repair, Tysabri Study

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Stem Cell Treatment Benefits Three-fourths of MS Patients in Phase 1 Trial This is encouraging news for MS patients hoping to see some action in the ... Read more

February 16, 2018February 15, 2018

Peeking Behind the Curtain at Medical Insurance Decisions

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Several years ago, I tried to get my insurance company to approve a functional electronic stimulator (FES). It’s a durable medical device that significantly improved my ... Read more

February 13, 2018February 12, 2018

Where Are the Handicapped Parking Spots?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

It’s nice when a negative experience can be turned into one that’s positive. I think that’s the result for a wheelchair-using MS patient following a problem ... Read more

February 12, 2018February 12, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: 3rd Round of Lemtrada, Ampyra’s Possibilities, Long-term MD1003, Possible PML Treatment

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

#ACTRIMS2018 – Third Course of Lemtrada Improves Relapse, Disability in MS Patients, CARE-MS II Trial Shows The normal treatment regimen with Lemtrada is a series of ... Read more

February 9, 2018February 12, 2018

Good News for Tysabri Users Who Are JCV Positive

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

One of the many disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that I’ve been on over the many years of my treatment for MS is Tysabri (natalizumab). It worked well, ... Read more

February 6, 2018February 5, 2018

Is It Time to Change Your MS Doctor?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

The other day, as I cruised around various MS internet groups, I came across a lament that I’ve seen before. But this one, for some reason, ... Read more

February 5, 2018February 5, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Testosterone and MS, Ocrevus in the UK, Enhanced MRI Technology, Ublituximab Trial Results

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Researchers Identify Testosterone-triggered Molecule That Protects Men From MS This finding is an extension of research that has already indicated that a higher testosterone level reduces ... Read more

February 2, 2018February 1, 2018

Affording Your MS … or Not, You’re Likely Paying Either Way

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Have you been in this Catch-22? You had great medical insurance when you were working. But, you’re not working anymore. Your insurance now comes with a ... Read more

January 30, 2018January 29, 2018

The Big Pharma-Government Revolving Door Is Spinning

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

You may have heard that there’s a new secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the United States. HHS is the department that guides the ... Read more

January 29, 2018January 29, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Medical Marijuana Gum, Brain Stimulation and Fatigue, Gilenya Study, Invisible Diseases

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Holland Approves Clinical Trial Plans for AXIM’s Cannabis-based Gum for MS Pain and Spasticity Because the state where I live has only recently approved the use ... Read more

January 26, 2018January 25, 2018

Cooking Dinner when MS Fatigue Has You Down

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

The TV was on as background noise the other day, but the words of the commercial cut right through my noise filter. With a little drum ... Read more

January 23, 2018January 22, 2018

Who Are You to Tell Me What MS Therapy I Need?

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I’m used to seeing insurance companies here in the United States make decisions about MS therapies, including refusing to pay for certain treatments unless other, less ... Read more

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Ocrevus in the EU, Salt and Cognitive Problems, Searching for Myelin, Tecfidera Tolerance

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

European Commission Approves Ocrevus to Treat RRMS, PPMS Throughout EU This is a biggie. It’s been nearly a year since the FDA approved the use of ... Read more

January 19, 2018January 18, 2018

Heavy-hitting MS Therapies Now Being Used Sooner for Some Patients

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I’m sitting in Florida and the start of spring training is only about six weeks from now, so please forgive a baseball analogy: The heavy-hitters of ... Read more

January 16, 2018January 15, 2018

A Tough Year to Fight the Flu

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

I’m fighting a cold. I’m coughing and I’m congested. I’m hoping it’s not the flu. This is not a year to get the flu. The type ... Read more

January 15, 2018January 15, 2018

MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituxan, Medical Marijuana for Canadians, Extavia, Atira Trial

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

Newly Diagnosed MS Patients Stay Longer on Rituxan Than Other Therapies, Study Finds This is a study that identifies which disease-modifying drugs new MS patients stuck ... Read more

January 12, 2018January 10, 2018

Worrying About the Dye Used in My MRIs

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert about gadolinium, the dye that’s injected when our doctors order a brain MRI “with and without” ... Read more

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018

Diagnosing MS Faster and Better

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

As we all know, MS is difficult to diagnose. Put another way, it’s easy to misdiagnose. There’s no single diagnostic test for MS. Neurologists use their ... Read more

January 8, 2018January 8, 2018

MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: MRI Dyes, Diagnosis Criteria, Handwriting and MS, Progressive MS Research

Columns, The MS Wire - A Column by Ed Tobias

FDA Warns of Risks Linked to Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents Used in MRI Scans I had a brain MRI a couple of weeks ago and I asked ... Read more