August 4, 2021 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Swank and Wahls Diets Found to Help with MS Fatigue, Quality of Life The low-fat Swank diet and the Wahls elimination diet reduced fatigue and improved quality of life after three months for people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a clinical trial has found. āItās encouraging that fatigue was reduced and quality of life improved in both groups,ā Bruce Bebo, PhD, from…
July 22, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD Multivitamins Reduce Fatigue, Improving Quality of Life Multivitamin supplements reduce fatigue and improve quality of life in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a new study reports. After 70 days of continuous use, patients taking multivitamin supplements containing vitamins A, B-complex, C, and D improved their blood antioxidant status and experienced up to a 34% reduction…
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 22, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD MS-related Fatigue Strongly Affects Youngsters’ Functioning Multiple sclerosis and its associated fatigue negatively affect school performance, mental health, and physical and social functioning in children and adolescents with the disease, according to a review study. Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS) also was associated with negative effects on social functioning, mental health, and quality of life in…
June 15, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Home-based Exercise Viable Alternative for RRMS Patients A home-based rehabilitation program can help ease fatigue, improve motor and cognitive function, and promote better quality of life in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), a small clinical trial has found. While a structured supervised exercise program was better at improving fatigue and health-related quality of life, the…
June 4, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes Making the Most of Both Good Days and Bad If you have multiple sclerosis, no matter how long you’ve lived with it, you likely know it can be unpredictable. It can hit in weird ways youāre not expecting, even after years of learning how to deal with it. For instance, last Saturday, my family of four and some friends…
May 28, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD At-home Brain Stimulation Program Now Available New York University (NYU) Langone Health has launched an at-home, therapeutic program of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) ā a type of non-invasive brain stimulation ā to reduce cognitive, motor, speech, or mood symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other brain disorders. A first of its kind, the…
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 6, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS N-acetyl Cysteine Safe, But Failed to Lessen MS Fatigue Treatment with the antioxidant Nāacetyl cysteine is well-tolerated, but failed to outperform a placebo at easing fatigue in people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), a small clinical trial found. More studies now are needed to determine if oxidative stress contributes to fatigue or clinical progression in MS patients, and…
March 18, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD More Trials Needed to Clarify Benefits of Alzheimerās Therapy Memantine in MS Treatment of up to a year with memantine ā an approved therapy forĀ Alzheimerās diseaseĀ ā failed to prevent cognitive decline and disability, and to significantly reduce fatigue and spasticity in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS), a review of published studies shows. The therapy, soldĀ under the brand nameĀ Namenda, works…
February 24, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Physical Inactivity, Smoking Linked to Patient Fatigue People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who smoke tobacco or are not physically active are more likely to experience fatigue that interferes with their daily life, a new study indicates. The findings suggest that physical exercise and quitting smoking could help ease fatigue in people with MS. The study, “…
January 26, 2021 Columns by Jessie Ace The Trick That Helps Me Manage My Fatigue I have a secret. You may roll your eyes at me when you hear this one.Ā It’s how I juggle spending time with family and friends, running a business, and exercising while managing fatigue. If you know me, you know my secret. Or…
December 22, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace How Much Energy Do You Spend Making Yourself Presentable? āShe smelled amazing!ā I commented to my oblivious husband as we walked our muddy dog back home after our daily walk. āDid you smell that lady as she walked past us?āĀ Unfortunately, the lady was too far gone for me to awkwardly run up and ask…
December 17, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell What Do You See When You See Me? If I were using a wheelchair, would you question why I use a handicapped placard? Perhaps some (or all) of the condemnation I now receive would diminish. Maybe the notes left on my windshield would not be written. Perchance, it might temper some of the ugly comments spoken to my…
December 15, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace Can Taking a Break From Tech Reduce My Fatigue? What would happen if you switched off all of your devices for a day? Phones, tablets, laptops, TVs ā all of them switched off. Could you do it? How would it feel?Ā What would you do instead? My…
December 11, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD MS Patients Urged to Enroll in Clinical Trial Assessing Chronic Fatigue Treatments Adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) are being urged to enroll in a new clinical trial ā now recruiting in Washington and Michigan states ā that aims to assess the effectiveness of different treatments to counteract the effects of chronic fatigue. The investigators are hopeful that data from this…
December 4, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Review Study Examines Factors That Affect MS Patients’ Quality of Life Disability, fatigue, depression, cognitive impairment, and unemployment are primary risk factors for a poor quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a recent review study. Conversely, higher self-esteem, self-efficacy, resilience, and social support were identified as protective factors for quality of life (QoL).
November 3, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace 6 Types of Fatigue and How They Might Affect Us Did you know that there are various types of fatigue, and each makes us feel slightly different than the others? A long while ago, I was at an MS seminar listening to a nurse talk about fatigue.Ā She…
October 13, 2020 News by Teresa Carvalho, MS Risk Factors for Unemployment in People With MS Identified in Study Factors related to disease and personality, as well as specific health-related behaviors, are among the main determinants that can put people with multiple sclerosis (MS) at risk of unemployment, a study suggests. In particular, MS disease course, fatigue, self-efficacy (belief in one’s own abilities to cope, in this…
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 18, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Fatigue Tops Survey About Relapsing MS Symptoms FatigueĀ is the most impactful symptom on daily functioning in people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) and is more severe in patients with relapse, pain, depression, and sleep disorders, according to a U.S.-based survey. The results were based mostly on a new MS-specific toolĀ called the Fatigue Symptoms…
September 10, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD #MSVirtual2020 – Ponesimod Superior to Aubagio in Delaying Disability Progression in Relapsing MS, Trial Data Show Janssen Pharmaceuticalsā investigational oral therapy ponesimod is superior to Sanofiās Aubagio (teriflunomide) in delaying disability progression in adults with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to exploratory analyses of OPTIMUM clinical trial data. These and other findings from Janssenās MS research program, including on the health…
August 31, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD MS Patients Using Cooling Vests Show Significant Exercise Gains in Small Study Wearing a cooling vest significantly improved the time and distance walked under conditions that can provoke heat sensitivity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a small study. The study, “Effects of a cooling vest with sham condition on walking capacity in heat-sensitive people with…
August 25, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace How Much Caffeine Are You Consuming? Your alarm sounds at 7 a.m.Ā You grunt, smash the snooze button, and turn over. Ten minutes later, your alarm sounds again.Ā You smash snooze.Ā And repeat another five times.Ā Eventually, you reach for your phone with a…
August 13, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Too Much Cortisol May Affect Attention of Cognitively Non-fatigue MS Patients Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have high levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, compared to healthy controls.Ā Also, patients categorized as non-cognitive fatigue show a higher variability in cortisol levels and perform worse on an attention task. Those findings are documented in the study, āRelation between cognitive fatigue and circadian…
August 5, 2020 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Coffee May Help Ease Fatigue in MS Patients With Milder Disability Drinking coffee each day appears to help people withĀ multiple sclerosis (MS) and milder disability and fatigue, with this patient group reporting in a questionnaire that caffeine allowed them to better concentrate on tasks and broaden their attention spans, a study reports. Its researchers suggest that “for selected patients”Ā regular coffee…
July 24, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Ketamine May Help Treat MS-related Fatigue, Small Pilot Trial Suggests Low doses of the anesthetic ketamine could help treat fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to results from a small Phase 1/2 clinical trial. Trial findings were published in the study, “Pilot randomized active-placebo-controlled trial of low-dose ketamine for the treatment of…
June 2, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Pain and Disturbed Sleep May Be Earliest Symptoms of MS, Study Suggests Symptoms including sleep disorders and pain may precede by as many as five years the onset of the more well-known symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. Understanding these first symptoms could aid in an early diagnosis, allowing treatment to begin at initial stages of disease. The…
May 4, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Pain, Fatigue in MS and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Compared in Study Pain appears to be more intense in people with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) than those with multiple sclerosis (MS), while fatigue levels are comparable between the two disorders, a study reports. Its researchers also link certain types of central nervous system lesions to pain and fatigue in…
April 2, 2020 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Regular Exercise ‘Strongly Recommended’ to Ease Fatigue in MS Physical exercise can ease fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and potentially benefit them in many other ways, and should be part of rehabilitation programs for patients, a large review study suggests. The study,Ā “The impact of physical exercise on the fatigue symptoms in patients with…