coronavirus

Well, this is super weird. Being told to stay home and leave our houses only for food, medication, or exercise is bizarre for those of us in England. It’s starting to take a toll on my mental health.  The other day, I stood in line at…

I’ve just been sentenced to at least 18 months in solitary without time off even for good behavior! Pretty harsh. Luckily, I’m match fit. I’ve already previously done nearly a year trapped in my bedroom with only a commode and basin for most of the day. That was tough.

Dr. Aaron Boster assessed the gait of his multiple sclerosis patient, who walked forward and back. Earlier, he had checked the patient’s seventh cranial nerve by having him close his eyes tightly and smile. Then, Boster checked the ninth, 10th, and 12th cranial nerves by having him stick out his…

We are living in unprecedented times. Years from now, references will be made to COVID-19. Numbers of those afflicted and those we lost will live on in print. Future generations will learn how phrases such as “social distancing” and “stop the spread” originated. This pandemic will leave a…

A number of websites are currently offering online coronavirus screening. These aren’t a full-scale test. The online sites read symptoms that you enter and then use artificial intelligence to determine how likely it is that you’re positive for the virus. But there’s a bit of a problem. An investigation by…

Life is unscripted. It is messy and uncertain, with change being the only constant. Much like living with multiple sclerosis, adapting to change is directly correlated to our ability to thrive. We are reminded of this as we adjust to our new reality in the throes of COVID-19. Seemingly…

I’m starting this week by linking to our Coronavirus COVID-19 Information section on the Multiple Sclerosis News Today Forums. My fellow moderator, John Connor, and I have been posting information there from our news writers and columnists about the evolving situation. Have You Tested Positive for Coronavirus…

I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but there’s this coronavirus thing going around. And it is disrupting everything from concerts and conferences to schools and my kids’ recreation sports leagues. Don’t get me wrong, as a person who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is therefore immunocompromised,…

Take a deep breath, and I don’t mean the kind promoted by fake memes infecting the web to “prove” that you don’t have COVID-19! My deep-breath moment was in a small elevator at my doctor’s office. An able-bodied woman in her 50s bounded into the elevator behind my wheelchair…

What happens if you have MS and you’ve tested positive for COVID-19? How will the disease affect your disease-modifying therapies and your MS? Dr. Barry Singer, (@drbarrysinger), a neurologist who directs The MS Center for Innovations in Care in St. Louis, has posed…

“It’s the end of the world as we know it.” — R.E.M. Welcome to the world of COVID-19. Coronaviruses aren’t new: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) are both coronaviruses. But this uninvited guest, COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, has…

When I received my multiple sclerosis diagnosis, I was told that my immune system is a little weaker than most people’s and I am more susceptible to getting sick. But I didn’t realize how easy it would be to catch a cold until I did. No matter what…

I don’t watch or listen to the news, but luckily, fellow Multiple Sclerosis News Today columnist Ed Tobias does. I’ve found that avoiding the news has helped to improve my mental health, because I realized that all the doom and gloom happening…

There’s nothing like a good, old-fashioned bacteriological pincer attack to take your mind off impending death. I’m not exaggerating about the impending bit. A friend/colleague was supposed to fly to Rome today for a holiday but Italy has just closed. As I write this, it was only yesterday that the…

Second Phase 3 Trial of MedDay’s MD1003 for Progressive MS Fails to Meet Goals This is disappointing news about what scientists had hoped would be another oral disease-modifying therapy for multiple sclerosis. It’s doubly disappointing because MD1003 is aimed at progressive forms of MS and demyelination, and we need…

People with multiple sclerosis have unique concerns about the new coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease that it causes. Many of us use disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that suppress our immune systems and give us an extra element to worry about when we plan our defense against this virus. To help us…

FAQs About Coronavirus and MS As the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease spreads around the world, people with multiple sclerosis are asking questions specifically related to our illness and our medications. These FAQs answer many of those questions. The recent outbreak of a novel…

I know the new strain of coronavirus is bad, but in the face of impending doom, I’m likely to find humor. Anyone who has had more aggressive disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) like Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) likely has a compromised immune system. After all, this is exactly what…

A virus known to cause respiratory infections in people — the human coronavirus (HCoV) — may also be the source of neurological diseases that strike patients, seemingly out of the blue, a new study reported. Results obtained in the study, “Human Coronavirus OC43 Associated with Fatal Encephalitis,” support the idea that diseases…