January 4, 2022 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Minorities, Others With Depression, Asked to Join Support Group Study Adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) and depression or anxiety, especially those of minority groups, are being asked to join a clinical trial assessing the benefits of eSupport Health’s online support group program, the National MS Society announced in aĀ press release. The CONNECT study is particularly focused on Black and…
December 30, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Vitamin D Supplements May Improve MS Quality of Life Vitamin D supplementation may improve quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a literature review study. Because vitamin D deficiency is common in MS patients, these findings suggest that āsupplementation should be applied at least in a dose that covers the recommended intake,ā the researchers…
December 8, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Greater Sense of Life Control May Curb Depression Having a greater sense of control over life circumstances ā a coping resource called mastery ā is associated with a significantly lower risk of future depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, an international study shows. The findings suggest that developing greater mastery may prevent MS patients from developing depression,…
October 15, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #ECTRIMS2021 ā Quitting Smoking May Help Slow MS Progression Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News Today team is providing in-depth coverage of the virtual 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), Oct. 13ā15. GoĀ here to see the latest stories from the conference. Multiple…
October 13, 2021 by BioNews Staff Expert Voices: Understanding and managing fatigue in multiple sclerosis In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Meghan Beier, PhD, a rehabilitation neuropsychologist who teaches skills and techniques to improve patients’ quality of life, to answer some of your questions related to fatigue for people with multiple sclerosis (MS).Ā Beier is a psychologist specializing…
September 14, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Depression Greatly Raises Patients’ Risk of Vascular Disease, Death Depression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients greatly raises their risk ofĀ vascular disease and death by any cause, a study that compared this patient group with other patients and a matched public reported. Its researchers recommended further work to determine “whether effectively treating depression” might lower these risks for these…
August 26, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety Common in First Year After CIS/MS Diagnosis People newly diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently experience pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety in the first year after diagnosis, a new study finds. Fatigue was reported by almost two-thirds of new patients, and half experienced pain. Many individuals experienced multiple symptoms simultaneously,…
August 16, 2021 News by Forest Ray PhD ‘Personal Zen’ Mobile App Helps to Ease Anxiety in Pediatric-onset MS Personal Zen, a digitalĀ anxiety management tool developed by Wise Therapeutics, eased anxiety and broad negative moods in people with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a pilot study. This app-based therapy, a “mobile gamified version” of what is known asĀ attention bias modification…
July 21, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS-related Fatigue Identified as Main Factor Affecting Work Ability Fatigue, whether alone or in combination with depression or anxiety, is the main influencing factor of self-reported working ability among people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and mild disability, according to a study in the Netherlands. Notably, contrary to the researchersā expectations, personality traits were found to have…
June 17, 2021 News by Mary Chapman $1M Gift Will Expand Adventure-based Healing Program A $1 million gift from Velocity Global will help expand First Descents, an adventure program for young adults living with multiple sclerosis (MS) or other serious chronic conditions. The money will go toward program development and is expected to help First Descents reach 1,000 MS patients over…
June 16, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Stopping Cannabis Aids Cognition in MS, But Not Awareness of Gains People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may not be entirely aware of the decline in their cognitive abilities with cannabis use, which may explain why many choose to continue with it, a small study in patients who are long-term cannabis users reported. The study, āImpaired awareness: Why people with…
June 7, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Impaired Social Cognition May Affect Well-being of RRMS Patients Impaired social cognition ā lacking the ability to understand and process others’ emotions ā may affect how people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) feel on a day-to-day basis, a small, three-year study has found. RRMS patients with such difficulties were “characterized at follow-up by a higher level of depression…
May 11, 2021 News by Vanda Pinto, PhD Fatigue Prevalence Remains High in MS Patients The prevalence of fatigue continues to be high among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) despite significant progress over the years in therapies that change the course of the disease, a large survey study in Norway found. The findings also show that the frequency of fatigue is higher in…
April 23, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS #AANAM ā COVID-19 Often Leads to Flares in MS Patients, Survey Finds Editorās note: TheĀ Multiple Sclerosis News TodayĀ team is providing in-depth coverage of the 2021 Virtual AAN Annual Meeting, April 17ā22. GoĀ hereĀ to read the latest stories from the conference. The majority of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) experience new or worsening symptoms after developing COVID-19, a patient survey…
January 19, 2021 Columns by Jessie Ace How to Overcome January Blues in 5 Easy Steps Can January March? No, but April May!Ā OK, well, I thought it was funny.Ā Nothing beats the January blues like bad puns, right? Letās face it. For most people, January sucks. The end of the year is full of excitement. There are…
January 15, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Sexual Dysfunction Common in Men with MS, Review Finds Sexual dysfunction affects more than 60% of adult men with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a review study. The data add to previous findings showing that more than two-thirds of women with MS also experience these problems, highlighting the importance of detecting and managing sexual dysfunction in…
December 8, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Adolescents With MS Have Lower Levels of Physical Fitness, Study Reports Adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) have lower levels of fitness compared with healthy teenagers of the same age and a sex, a study suggests. Findings also demonstrated that among younger MS patients, higher levels of fitness were associated with lower disease activity and disability. The study āYouth with…
November 23, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Typing Patterns and MS Progression, Cognitive Testing, Multitasking, Autoimmune Registry Smartphone Typing Patterns May Be Tool for Monitoring MS Progression, Study Finds This is an interesting concept that makes sense. Like the nine-hole peg test that some neurologists use to test finger dexterity, and like some apps that attempt to measure this, monitoring how quickly, and in what manner…
November 20, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS Patients With Depression Symptoms Have More Difficulty Multitasking, Study Shows Patients in the early stages of multiple sclerosis with mild to moderate symptoms of depression performed worse on cognitive tests related to multitasking than on those focused on single tasks, a study has found. Notably, no such association was observed among healthy individuals, suggesting an MS-related link between mood,…
October 19, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Variation in Given Gene May Raise Depression Risk Among MS Patients A genetic variant may make depressionĀ more likely inĀ certain people with multiple sclerosis (MS) than others, a genome-wideĀ study in patients indicates. The study, “Depression in multiple sclerosis patients associated with risk variant near NEGR1,” was published inĀ Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. Depression is characterized by…
October 6, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace What No One Tells You After a Diagnosis A multiple sclerosis diagnosis is hard to process. Our body that we once knew so well suddenly feels untrustworthy. The truth is that the malfunctioning of our body is a traumatic event. We never expected it to do these things.Ā We are…
September 30, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Iron Deficiency May Be Linked to Depression and Poorer Life Quality Low blood levels of ferritin ā the main form of iron stored in cells ā are significantly associated with more severe depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life in multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) patients, a small study from Poland reports. Data showed no link between the levels of other measures of…
September 28, 2020 News by David Melamed, PhD MS Patients Report Moderate Health-related Quality of Life, Literature Review Finds Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) report moderate scores in mental and physical health, as measured by three, well-established quality-of-life scales, according to an analysis of published literature. The study, “Global, regional and national quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis: a global systematic review and…
September 9, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD COVID-19 Pandemic Had Minimal Emotional Impact in Progressive MS Patients, Survey Finds While theĀ COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the psychological well-being of people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), it led to minimal changes in depression, anxiety, and quality of life, according to data from an international survey. This was true even for the 4% of patients who reported…
August 6, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD Donepezil Seen to Aid Cognition, Life Quality for MS Patients in Small Trial DonepezilĀ ā an approvedĀ treatment forĀ Alzheimer’s diseaseĀ ā eased cognitive impairment, depression, and improved other quality-of-life measures inĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with mild to moderate disability, according to results of a single-site clinical trial. The study, “Effect of Donepezil on Cognitive Impairment, Quality of Life, and Depression…
July 21, 2020 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Putting Myself First “Take the time you need,” “This too shall pass,” and “You canāt pour from an empty cup” are just a few idioms I have used to encourage others. Strong shoulders carry heavy loads. My shoulders bear the weight of myself and countless others. The DNA of an empath is…
July 1, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Anxiety and Depression Linked to RRMS Relapse Risk, Study Finds Comorbidities such as anxiety and depression are associated with a significantly increased risk of relapse in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a clinical trial analysis has found.Ā Anxiety and abnormal blood lipids (fats) also increased the risk of any RRMS disease activity.Ā Based on those findings, researchers…
June 19, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD CMSC Meeting Focuses on Challenges, Solutions to Quality of Life Issues Nearly 3,000 multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare providers and researchers Ā convened recently to share their findings regarding the latest developments in the diagnosis and treatment of MS. However, unlike past meetings, this year’s 34th Annual Meeting of theĀ Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC) took place online. Virtual presentations covered the…
June 18, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD Depression 2 to 3 Times More Likely in MS Patients Than Others, Study Finds A likelihood of depression is two to three times higher inĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the U.S. and U.K. than in similar groups of people in these countries without the disease, a study reported. This risk was also “most evident in the first five yearsĀ after MS diagnosis” among…
June 9, 2020 News by InĆŖs Martins, PhD Biogen, MS Trust Open ‘ACT Myself’ to Help With Emotional Well-being A new digital tool aims to help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) deal with the emotional burden of their diagnosis, guiding them to focus on what matters most in their lives rather than the pain of living with MS. The self-help tool, named ACT MySelf, was developed by…