COVID-19

‘Soon May the Wellerman Come’: Connecting Through Music

As hard as it is to believe, weā€™re now nearly a year into this pandemic. Thankfully, two vaccines are currently working their way through the system and into peopleā€™s arms in the U.S., and before 2021 is out, perhaps weā€™ll get back to something resembling normalcy (whatever that is). One…

My ‘Great Escape’ During a Long Pandemic

Unfortunately, mine didn’t involve a cool motorbike ā€” it was the wrong kind, as somehow Steve McQueen had managed to steal a British one ā€” and an impossible jump at barbed wire to get into Switzerland! I’ll now never be able to get onto a motorbike anyway. Instead, it…

COVID-19 Vaccine Gets Thumbs-up from National MS Society

The advice issued Tuesday by the U.S.-based National Multiple Sclerosis Society about COVID-19 vaccination couldn’t be clearer: “Get your vaccine as soon as it is available to you.” New MS Society guidelines say that the two COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the U.S., both of which use an mRNA…

MSAA Hosting 8th Webinar on COVID-19 and MS

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is hosting a webinar in which experts will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on multiple sclerosis (MS). The webinar, “What You Need to Know About COVID-19 and MS: Program 8,” will take place at 8 p.m.

Top 10 Multiple Sclerosis Stories of 2020

Multiple Sclerosis News Today brought you daily coverage of the latest scientific findings, treatment developments, and clinical trials related to multiple sclerosis (MS) throughout 2020, a year marked by theĀ COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to reporting more news to patients, family members, and caregivers dealing with MS during…

Santa Claus Is Still Cominā€™ to Town

Santa refuses to use email! At least letter-sending is a thousand years older than he is! (Via Shutterstock) Well, 2020 was a weird year for everybody. It was even weird for magical creatures, as these days, an awful lot of people believe they exist! It’s tough now…

Can I Get a COVID-19 Vaccine If I Have MS?

Do you plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine? I do.Ā  One is now available to some residents of the U.K., and approval in the U.S. of one or more likely will happen soon. Though the U.S.-based National Multiple Sclerosis Society has said only that people with MS should consider…

Travel During COVID-19: Should We Stay or Should We Go?

The temperature’s dropping. The wind is whipping. It’s time for my wife, Laura, and me to head south, leaving cold, uncomfortable Maryland for the welcoming warmth of southwest Florida. Or is it? Though I once swore I’d never become a snowbird, a few years ago, we spent a week on…

MSIF Issues New Recommendations to Protect Against COVID-19

The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) has issued new recommendations about how people with MS should adjust their daily lives because of the coronavirus pandemic. The MSIF, a network of national MS societies from around the world, first issued COVID-19 recommendations last spring. But much has been learned…

Gilenya Remains Favorite S1P Receptor Modulator in US, But Zeposia May Catch Up, Survey Finds

Among oral sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators for multiple sclerosis (MS), Novartisā€™s GilenyaĀ (fingolimod) remains physiciansā€™ favorite in the U.S., but prescriptions of recently-launched Bristol Myers Squibbā€™s Zeposia (ozanimod) are beginning to rise,Ā according to a survey conducted by Spherix Global Insights. Also, COVID-19Ā not…

#MSVirtual2020 ā€“ Meeting Focus Is on Advances in MS Research, Diagnostics, and Technology

The upcoming MSVirtual2020 meeting, the largest international conference dedicated to multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) research, will focus on advances and breakthroughs made in MS causes and risk factors, diagnostic tools, treatment response biomarkers, technology, and therapies and interventions. The 8th joint meeting of the Americas Committee for Treatment and…

Lemtrada and COVID-19: To Treat or Not to Treat?

Like others these days, I’m worried about COVID-19. In fact, I’m probably more worried than some. I’m old, I have MS, and I’ve been treated with the disease-modifying therapy Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) ā€” a trifecta of potential trouble. Lemtrada suppresses part of the immune system. It’s one of the…

MSAA Opens ‘COVID-19 and MS Pathfinder’ Online Informative Platform

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) teamed withĀ Wondros, a creative production company, to launchĀ COVID-19 and MS Pathfinder, an onlineĀ platform offering theĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) community accurate and regularly updated information to help in safely navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics covered range from managing MS symptoms…

Updating the Shifting MS-COVID-19 Treatment Equation

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written about the impact that COVID-19 is having on people with MS. Since then, the picture has changed ā€” not a lot, but enough for the MS International Federation to modify its recommendations for that illness, people with MS, and…

Aubagio Safely Used by 5 MS Patients With Active COVID-19 Infection

Five people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who tested positive for COVID-19Ā whileĀ being treated with Aubagio (teriflunomide)Ā Ā all developed a mild infection, had good outcomes, and experienced no disease relapses, a case study reported. These findings suggest that use of Aubagio, a disease-modifying therapy that acts on the immune system,…