fatigue

By the grace of God, I am a naturally positive individual who lends optimism and hope to even the bleakest of situations. Because of this, it is difficult to find me in a situation when my auspicious nature tires; after all, we find out the most…

Pain, walking problems and fatigue are factors that most strongly lower self-perceived health in multiple sclerosis (MS), researchers at the New York University Langone Medical Center have found. This challenges current treatment approaches focus mainly on physical disability. It suggests that “invisible disability” may be more important to how patients…

I’ve had a cold for two weeks. So, I’ve been more tired than usual. Too tired, in fact, to write the column that was supposed to post last Tuesday. (I apologize to all of you who wait, with bated breath, for the appearance of the MS Wire each…

Non-invasive brain stimulation reduces fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients, concludes a study by researchers at New York University. Fatigue is one the most disabling symptoms of MS, affecting roughly 75 percent of people with the disease. Doctors often prescribe drugs to treat narcolepsy, as well as behavior-based treatments and exercise programs, but their benefits have not been consistent. This led scientists to study a technique of brain stimulation called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which had shown positive results in earlier neurology studies, including improvements of cognitive symptoms in MS. In tDCS, doctors place electrodes on the scalp via a headset to apply a low-amplitude electrical current at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex — a brain region believed to play a role in fatigue and cognitive symptoms. The technique has been proven safe and tolerable. The NYU study randomly assigned 27 MS patients to receive either tDCS or placebo. Patients got treatment while playing a cognitive game directed at the brain’s processing speed and working memory. Sessions lasted 20 minutes each and took place five days a week, at patients’ homes. Participants reported their level of fatigue after 20 sessions, using a scale known as the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) that grades fatigue on a score of up to 32. A higher score correlates with more fatigue. The results showed a significant 5.6-point drop with tDCS, compared to a 0.9 point increase in the placebo group. Furthermore, patients may benefit from more sessions, since those who underwent 20 sessions reduced fatigue more than those who did only 10. The study also showed that patients with the most fatigue at baseline saw the biggest improvements. Remarkably, many participants reduced their fatigue to near-normal levels, researchers observed. Further studies are needed to ascertain the precise mechanism behind tDCS. Scientists believe it changes the brain’s excitability, which improves connections and facilitates learning. Meanwhile, the study's authors strongly advise MS patients not to try over-the-counter stimulation technologies outside of a reliable research setting. The research team plans to test tDCS in larger clinical trials for MS-related fatigue, motor and cognitive symptoms. Currently, the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center at NYU Langone Health is the only one in the United States to offer tDCS to MS patients.

April Hester has MS. She was diagnosed in 1996, just after she turned 20 years old. Like many of us, April has balance and fatigue issues. Her legs can become tired, her foot sometimes drops and she falls a lot. But unlike many of us, April and her…

IQuity Taking Orders for RNA-based Blood Test That Can Detect MS Early with 90% Accuracy Can it be that there’s now a blood test that can help diagnose MS? This company says it has one and doctors can order it. For a disease that’s always been…

Behavioral therapy focusing on goal attainment might reduce cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis patients, finds a study that used brain imaging to examine goal-oriented tasks involving rewards. Since fatigue is one of the most common MS symptoms, affecting up to 90 percent of patients, researchers at the Kessler Foundation in East Hanover, New Jersey, say their findings could open the door to new non-medication approaches to treating MS-related fatigue. Scientists believe that a part of the brain, called the fronto-striatal network, causes fatigue. But studies also show that the network is active during goal attainment tasks, and that such tasks can reduce fatigue in healthy people. Equipped with this knowledge, Kessler researchers recruited 19 MS patients and 14 healthy controls, and exposed them to one of two conditions. In the first, they had the chance to win money while gambling. Researchers called this the outcome condition. The second condition did not include the prospect of a reward, or outcome. The tasks were performed in a brain scanner. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain — a method that tracks brain activity by monitoring blood flow — researchers could study how different tasks activated the fronto-striatal network. It turned out that the prospect of a reward activated parts of the network in deep brain structures, while parts of the prefrontal cortex were more active during the task without a potential reward. Importantly, the activation seen during the reward condition was linked to significantly lower levels of fatigue, which researchers measured outside the scanner. While researchers used a gambling task to study the process, similar exercises like achieving a good score on a test, might work equally well, researchers said. In fact, goal attainment is already incorporated in many neuropsychological rehabilitation efforts, including in MS.

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) often face geographic barriers that end up limiting their treatment options. That has led a Case Western Reserve University researcher to test online- and teleconference-based methods of reducing fatigue and improving patients’ quality of life. Matthew Plow, assistant professor at the university’s Frances Payne Bolton…

Beth Kantor, 42, now knows what it really means to get down in the dirt. For the past four years, she’s volunteered as a first-aid assistant at the annual Twin Cities MuckFest, a fundraising event that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society organized in suburban Minneapolis. But this year, Kantor decided it…

Fatigue. Most people with chronic illness – especially MS — experience this. My energy levels vary from one day to the next. I am tired of being tired (pun intended). There are days when getting out of bed is challenging, and times when I literally have to force…

Believe me, I enjoy being active. As I’m sitting in a chair or a wheelchair, it may not appear that way, but I do. I have multiple sclerosis, and the fatigue and difficulty of moving can make it extremely laborious to be active. The thought of going on…

Many of us with multiple sclerosis have heard the saying, “I go to bed wired and wake up tired.” This is quite accurate, as fatigue is one of the most prevalent aspects of living with MS. So often I hear from well-meaning individuals who,…

Editor’s note: Tamara Sellman continues her occasional series on the MS alphabet with this second of two columns about words starting with the letter F. Read the first “F” column here. When it comes to multiple sclerosis, mastering an understanding of the disease means you…

It’s summer in the U.K., and it’s hot. That’s cause for celebration for everyone but us. It’s actually the hottest June day since 1986. Heat immediately spikes my fatigue. For some of us, the cold does the same. Thankfully, not me — I get the winter off. According…

Fatigue and limited leg function are more common among older people with progressive multiple sclerosis than in those with relapsing forms of the disease, according to a study. In fact, they are a sign that the disease of a person with relapsing MS is becoming worse by reaching the progressive MS…

Fatigue is a topic I have not wanted to write about. It’s not because the subject isn’t important. As I hemmed and hawed about this week’s column topic, fading in and out of an annoying cognitive fog brought on by increased MS fatigue, the task-minded side of me…

Young multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who engage in physical activity can relieve symptoms of depression, concludes a Canadian study supported by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Researchers presented their study, “Longitudinal Relationships Between Moderate and Vigorous Physical Activity, Fatigue, and Depression in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis,” at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the…

Multiple sclerosis causes debilitating fatigue. The following photographs show, without censorship, what my fatigue leaves undone. The homes of everyone I know have living rooms without sweaters tossed over the back of chairs. Their floors are not an obstacle course. They do not have piles of mail, notes, drills,…

People with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) are more likely to feel exhausted and have limited leg function than those without progressive MS as they age, a preliminary study suggests. The findings will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 69th Annual Meeting, set for April 22-28 in Boston.

Spending more time in the sunshine could make people with multiple sclerosis (MS) feel more energetic, though dietary vitamin D intake’s effect is mixed, depending on what type of MS a particular patient has. That’s the conclusion of a study — “Dietary intakes of vitamin D, sunshine exposure, EDSS and fatigue…

Fatigue is the bane of my existence. Clutter qualifies as my lifestyle. If I can’t see something it may as well be lost. I spend about 50% of my day trying to find things I have put “someplace safe.” The other half I spend looking for something I just had…

Does your MS fatigue and energy need a boost? I know mine does; having multiple sclerosis drains my battery very quickly. Add to that a terrible cold I had recently, and my fatigue has doubled, and my energy has left the building! While looking for a magic…

Regular massage therapy given people with multiple sclerosis (MS) significantly reduced their pain and fatigue, and helped to ease spasticity, a small pilot study reports. The results further support previous findings as to the benefits of massage in treating MS symptoms and improving patients’ quality of life. The study, “Impact of Massage Therapy on Fatigue,…

About two weeks ago I wrote about my roller-coaster ride being pretty smooth since my first round of Lemtrada infusions ended in early December. Well, the loops are now looping. Month two post-infusion began with a good lab report, but also with an appearance of the up-down fatigue monster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPa0bMG3zac In this film from MS Get Involved, Kerrie Newton talks about her exercise regimen and how important it is to her. She explains that exercising each day allows her to be able to stand for short periods and how it makes her feel better emotionally and helps with…

In a cross-sectional study, researchers found that sexual dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is linked to fatigue and depression. Treating these factors and identifying their causes is a potential strategy to treat the problem. The study, “Sexual function in multiple sclerosis and associations with demographic, disease…

“I can come over and stab you, if Gramma can’t do it,” read the Facebook post from my oldest son.  “Aw … thanks, kiddo,” I replied. Some things seem more interesting when taken out of context!  Of course, most of you will realize that my son was offering to…

I thought I’d finish writing this last night, but I was too tired. Same thing the night before, and I’m sure this sounds familiar to a lot of you. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates about 80% of the people who have MS have fatigue as one of…

A woman who says her life was made miserable by fatigue caused by multiple sclerosis (MS), claims she is on the road to recovery because she has taken control of her body and is using a combination of hormones and diet. Instead of relying on conventional treatment, she is…

Children with multiple sclerosis (MS) in North America identified a number of challenges in adhering to disease-modifying therapies — a potential first step to devising  therapeutic approaches that might improve adherence to MS medications among young patients and, subsequently, disease outcomes in these children. The results were presented in the talk, “Medication adherence in…