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It wasn’t an argument; it was a reality check. I was happy, nay, self-indulgent. Within a day, the ol’ stand-up show that I produced at London’s Comedy Store for 30 years had gotten another booking at a countryside marquee just outside the city. I mustn’t disparage, as it’s our…

For the past few months, my wife, Laura, has been following a ketogenic diet, and she’s lost a bunch of weight. But in addition to helping people slim down, the low-carb keto diet may have other benefits, including potentially for those with MS. A small study that will be…

The number of nurses in the U.K. with a specialty in multiple sclerosis (MS) care rose significantly between 2018 and 2021, but these specialists on average carry a patient caseload that’s 50% higher than recommended, as a pronounced rise in MS cases was also noted, the MS Trust reports.

“Most of the time, the greatest rewards come from doing the things that scare you the most. Maybe you’ll get everything you wish for. Maybe you’ll get more than you ever could have imagined. Who knows where life will take you? The road is long, and in the end, the…

In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Kassandra Munger to answer some of your questions about the connection between vitamin D levels and multiple sclerosis (MS). Munger received her bachelor’s in biology from the University of Rochester in 1997, master’s in…

The National MS Society, together with a number of its corporate healthcare partners, want to help correct the lack of diversity in clinical trials as part of an effort toward resolving healthcare inequities in the MS community. To address these disparities, the National MS Society’s Corporate Healthcare Roundtable, a…

#ACTRIMS2022 – Cognitive Training Paired With tDCS Aids Patients A treatment to clear “cog fog” would be welcomed by many people with MS. Over 75% of us are troubled by cognitive problems. In this study, adding painless transcranial direct current stimulation to standard cognitive training improved results when compared…

Photo courtesy of Agata Day 5 of 31 This is Agata’s (@beatingmyms) story: It was 2019. My life was about to turn upside down, and I had no idea. I should’ve noticed the signs: miscarriage, anxiety, depression. I just got married to the love of my life. I…

Spring is rapidly approaching. It’s warming up outside. The trees are starting to bloom. And inside our home, I am once again plotting to refresh the place. Out with old decorations, and in with the new! Declutter that closet! Donate the table and chairs that still look great because you…

There I was, swinging away in my hoist at 9 p.m., though my swinging London of the 2020s wasn’t only 60 years later, it was also a lot, lot grimmer. My carer and maybe still wife, Jane, stood below in a controlled fury. If nothing else, she might…

Photo courtesy of Laurie Lambert Day 4 of 31 This is Laurie Lambert’s story: The first thing I did was worry. When my friend told me of her MS diagnosis, I thought: she has always been the sharpest member of our circle — the one with the most expansive…

“I close my eyes/ Only for a moment then the moment’s gone/ All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity.” — Kansas, “Dust in the Wind”  The dark cloud of fatigue first swept through my mind toward the end of 2018. I was no stranger to physical fatigue,…

Photo courtesy of Manuela Lama Day 1 of 31 This is Manuela Lama’s (@manuela.p) story: Caring for someone with multiple sclerosis can be challenging, exhausting, and stressful. As a single mother of a daughter with MS, I have been not only physically tired, but, even more…

#ACTRIMS2022 – Immune System ‘Reset’ by Stem Cell Transplant At the University of Ottawa, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) has been used to treat people with aggressive MS since the early 2000s, MS News Today‘s Marisa Wexler reports. This study, which reviewed 71 patients during that period, reports…

Am I about to share my first conspiracy theory, even if it’s just about me? Why not? It’s all the rage, though this one may have a loose connection to a possible truth. Stick with the story, please. It requires some scene-setting. It was years ago, at the end of…

For my wife, Laura, and I, trying to change our address on our health insurance accounts last week was like following Alice down the rabbit hole. As Lewis Carroll wrote in the classic children’s novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”: “The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel…

“In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix must first burn.” — Octavia E. Butler You know that feeling of waking up in a strange place, and it takes a second to remember where you are? Imagine that coupled with not being able to move from the neck…

Fatigue Severity in MS Predicted by Shrinkage of Certain Brain Regions For several years, I’ve been a believer, along with many neurologists, in the theory that it’s best to treat MS as quickly and effectively as possible. Though directed at only fatigue indicators, this research looking at brain atrophy…

The past two weeks have been a bit of a blur. Our younger son caught the COVID-19 virus at school, and once we got a positive home test, we went into containment mode. While I took him to get an official test at a local clinic, my husband got everything…

Roll up, roll up, for all the fun of the fare! I swallow an awful lot of supplements. Have I also swallowed the barkers’ patter? I don’t think so. But I’m more than aware that if something works on mice, then the chances of it working on me are likely…

If you’re like me, you’re always wondering what obstacles you’ll need to overcome if you eat at a new restaurant or visit another venue you’ve never been to before. Will you physically be able to enter? If so, can you navigate once inside? Are the bathrooms accessible? You could…

Blood Stem Cell Transplant May Help Immune System Longer I’m a proponent of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (aHSCT) to treat MS. The process entails extracting a patient’s own stem cells, usually from the bone marrow, treating them to kill immune cells that trigger MS attacks, and then infusing…

Once upon a time, long, long ago, when I was very young, we British children would be asked, “What’s 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…

My immediate thought after reading a recent MS News Today headline stating that trigeminal neuralgia (TN) affects more than 3% of MS patients was, “Really, only 3%?” The reason is I’ve seen several complaints about the condition, which causes excruciating pain in the face. As the story noted, TN…

Multiple Sclerosis News Today is bringing back its “31 Days of MS” initiative for the third year during Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month in March. This project is aimed at raising awareness by highlighting different voices within the MS community. Every day in March, we will feature a story from…

“You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming?” — James Matthew Barrie Being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis significantly changed my perception of myself and the surrounding world. This drastic shift has been overwhelming and difficult to accept in many ways. The…

Doctors and nurses involved in the care of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) at a center in Scotland “highly” value the existence of a Pelvic Health Clinic for referrals — where patients identified as having concerns related to sexual health can be referred for consultation for guidance and care…

Combined Data May Predict Person’s Risk of Advancing From CIS to MS Clinically isolated syndrome is sometimes called “early MS.” It’s the diagnosis used when someone’s symptoms don’t quite look like MS, but it does appear that MS is lurking. It may take years for an actual…

My husband and I have been on a bit of a quest as of late. For several reasons that I won’t bore you with here, we are in search of a new church to join. A few weekends ago, we made our first visit to an Orthodox church here…

As usual, I’ve gone for what I hope to be an intriguing headline, because you’ve got to grab a reader by any means necessary. If you’ve read this far, I’m winning! This saga goes back well over a year, when my neurologist suggested I participate in a clinical trial for…