diagnosis

Rhythms and routines to complete your MS care

I used to think I was immune to illness. Getting sick was what my patients did. My multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis turned this belief, and many others, upside down. When the chaos of the diagnosis settled, I realized that becoming a patient was the most profound lesson I could…

How I kept going after a discouraging diagnosis of MS

Let me introduce myself: I’m Mike, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to share my story. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in August 2022. Since then, a lot has changed, including the loss of a 20-year career, worsening mobility problems, and the start of…

Disability after RRMS diagnosis may predict transition to SPMS

Greater self-reported physical disability within the first years of being diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a higher likelihood of transitioning to a progressive form of the disease. The finding comes from a recent analysis of patient-reported data from the U.K. MS Register. Scientists believe the…

Diagnosing primary progressive MS difficult, despite guidelines

DiagnosingĀ primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) can be challenging, with obstacles ranging from ruling out other disorders to differentiating between PPMS and other types of multiple sclerosis (MS). These difficulties were highlighted in the study, “Real-world challenges in the diagnosis of primary progressive multiple sclerosis,” published…

Eye Scans May Help to Diagnose MS in Children

A machine learning approach based on eye scans was employed by researchers to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) in children with up to 80% accuracy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans also provided enough data to diagnose other demyelinating diseases with 75% accuracy. OCT is an imaging tool that uses…

RRMS Onset Taking Place at Older Ages Over Past 50 Years

The first symptoms of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have been appearing increasingly later in life, according to a Spanish study covering nearly five decades. From the 1970s through the 2010s, the average age at disease onset rose by more than 10 years in both men and women, its researchers…

The Heat Is On: Coping With PPMS and High Temperatures

Oh, brother, itā€™s hot! How hot? Well, my thermometer hit ā€œare you kidding meā€ levels. My experience with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) has taught me that an 0.5-degree rise in body temperature is enough to cause a shutdown. Allow me to explain what itā€™s like when my…

She Disclosed Her Illness and Got the Job

It’s a decision most of us with a chronic illness have to make sooner or later: When do we disclose our illness, and to whom, and how do we do it? Thirty-one-year-old Katie Coleman faced that decision not long ago. Coleman has stage 4 kidney cancer, and, in April, she…

An Interview With Writer Edith Forbes: Living With MS

Last year, I got the chance to read and review Edith Forbesā€™ medical memoir, “Tracking a Shadow.” I thought it was an encouraging and thoughtful work, so I contacted her by email for an interview to share her thoughts with readers of this column. Forbes graduated from Stanford…