February 11, 2022 Columns by John Connor The Big Blue Bag and a ‘Cast Away’ Bed Once upon a time, long, long ago, when I was very young, we British children would be asked, “Whatās through the round window?” The line was from a TV series called “Play School.” The swinging ’60s may have been breaking in London, but culturally, this was the happening show…
February 7, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias Bladder Problems Keep Many of Us Looking for the Loo Are you frequently up at night for bathroom trips? When you’re outside, are you always looking for a loo? You’re not alone. A recent study confirms that the vast majority of people with multiple sclerosis are dealing with bladder problems. You probably know the symptoms: They include having…
July 8, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Botox for Kids, Kids’ Healthcare Needs, Mavenclad, MS Fatigue Diet FDA Approves Botox to Treat Upper Limb Spasticity in Children Aged 2 to 17 Botox injections have been approved to treat spasticity and bladder problems in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) for years. It’s encouraging to see pediatric-onset MS receiving more attention and approval for medications. As MS is…
June 25, 2019 News by Ana Pena PhD FDA Approves Botox to Treat Upper Limb Spasticity in Children Aged 2 to 17 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), marketed by Allergan, for the treatment of children ages 2 to 17 with upper limb muscle stiffness or spasticity, a common symptom inĀ children with…
March 29, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Some Thoughts About Controlling Your MS Bladder There are two types of people with MS: Those who have bladder problems and those who will have them. That may be an oversimplification but Iād be willing to bet that you, like me, have had that gotta-gotta-go problem too many times to count. Sometimes you make it…
March 5, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein #ACTRIMS2019 – Botox Earns High Marks from Patients, Physicians as Treatment for Spasticity, ASPIRE Follow-up Finds Patients with a range of diseases and disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS), report high satisfaction with botulinum toxin ā also known as BotoxĀ (onabotulinumtoxinA) ā as a treatment for spasticity, results from the ASPIRE clinical trial show. The data were presented last week byĀ Daniel S. Bandari,…
August 20, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Lemtrada and B-cells, DMT Efficacy, Botox and the Brain, a Diet Recommendation Lemtrada Can Lower Number of B-cells Infiltrating Nervous System and Forming Clumps, Animal Study Shows I usually stay away from recommending articles about mice studies, but this article does a nice job of explaining how Lemtrada works and the role of B-cells in multiple sclerosis (MS). As…
August 14, 2018 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Botox Increases Activity of Brain Regions Involved in Urinary Sensation, New Study Shows BotoxĀ injections in the bladder muscle increase the activity of brain regions involved in the sensation of urinary urgency in female multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who have neurogenic overactive bladder (NOAB), a new study shows. The study, “Higher Neural Correlates in Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Neurogenic Overactive…
August 13, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: MMJ Chewing Gum, Hair Loss, Botox for Bladder Problems, MS Progression Prediction Hair Loss Seen in RRMS Patients Using Aubagio Often Temporary and Mild, Study Says I read a lot of questions on multiple sclerosis (MS) social media groups from people who are worried about hair loss caused by their disease-modifying therapy (DMT). Aubagio (teriflunomide) is one DMT with…
August 9, 2018 News by Stacy Grieve, PhD Low-dose Botox Treatment Improves Urinary Symptoms in MS Patients, Study Finds Results from a Phase 3 clinical trialĀ show that urinary symptoms can be reduced significantly after treatment with low-dose Botox (100 units) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). That finding was reported in the study “Low-dose onabotulinumtoxinA improves urinary symptoms in noncatheterizing patients with MS,” published in the…
August 2, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski The Many Uses of Botox for MS Care There are many things that confuse me, particularly in the medical area. Perhaps thatās why I am more comfortable thinking about MS patients’ quality of life rather than being into the hard science of medicine and understanding how medicines work. Iām thinking in particular of botulinum toxin, more…
May 4, 2018 Columns by John Connor Knowing Me, Knowing MS The problem with writing a weekly column is I always need to come up with new ideas. Luckily, or rather, unluckily, MS always throws me a U.S. sports-shaped analogy ā one of those trickily disguised curveballs. I wasn’t even going to attempt to write this week. Not because of…
April 5, 2018 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Doctor Connections Have you ever been touched by the actions of one of your doctors? I hope we all have experienced special moments with our care providers because these times break down the authoritarian nature of medicine and allow us to interact as people rather than patients. A heartwarming moment took…
August 14, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye This Week: Study Volunteers Wanted, MS and the Flu, Iron and Pediatric MS, Botox University of California at San Francisco Recruiting MS Patients for Gut Bacteria Study Last year, a Harvard study reported significant differences between bacteria that MS patients have in their bellies and that found inĀ those who don’t have MS. If that bacteria is treated, those MS-related changes might…
January 19, 2017 Columns by Laura Kolaczkowski Resolving Insurance Problems Demands Patience and Endurance After my recent insurance experience, which I share here, I never again will wonder why some people give up on claiming their medical benefits. I have received Botox treatment for spasticity of my quad and hamstring muscles. This is an FDA-approved use, but to get this treatment there has…