living with MS

Welcome to “MS News Notes,” a Monday morning column where I comment on multiple sclerosis (MS) news stories that caught my eye last week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening: Testing a new MRI contrast agent One concern that some people with MS have when getting an MRI…

Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are three times more likely to face problems with sexual intimacy than are their healthy counterparts, according to a recent meta-analysis. About 61% of women with MS were estimated to have some degree of sexual dysfunction, with the most common being low…

I nearly jumped for joy — well, I would’ve if I could’ve — when I saw a new TV commercial for the Expedia travel company the other day. It shows a woman in winter who’s obviously had enough of the cold, ice, and snow. She is desperate to…

I must look like I need help all the time. I don’t own a shirt or any other article of clothing that says so, and I don’t think I have a helpless look on my face, either. I smile often, sometimes genuinely and sometimes with my mouth formed in…

Diet was found to significantly influence the severity of multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms among patients living in Denmark in a new real-world study. A diet rich in plant-based products was generally associated with a lower symptom burden than one high in red and processed meats. The same was true…

A few — OK, many — years ago, I played the lead in a production of “Oklahoma!” Don’t get excited; it wasn’t on Broadway or anything like that. It was a high school production, and I suspect I only landed the role because I could sing — and probably…

The government of Canada soon will provide new income benefits designed to help Canadians living with a disability — including people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Applauded by MS Canada, a nonprofit that actively advocated for these benefits, the announcement follows the passing of the Canada Disability Benefit Act,…

An educational intervention program was found to help improve treatment adherence among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving injectable therapies in a clinical trial in Iran. The program was designed based on the theory of planned behavior — a psychological premise that assumes people act rationally according to their…

Older people with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have not experienced disease activity for several years still will benefit from disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) to control the neurodegenerative disorder, a new study found. Data from a first trial assessing whether discontinuation of DMTs among these patients is at least as…

Nobody’s life is eternal, but let’s face it, peeps: Much of the psyche of a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient is internalized. I spend an inordinate amount of time, physical and mental, on my illness. Yer, OK, I’m not turning this into a therapy session. Or am I? A serious…

“What can Dr. Crayton help you with today?” I was starting my annual multiple sclerosis (MS) checkup with my neurologist, and before I met with her, I got this question from her MS nurse. I was stumped. I’d never been asked that before. I think most people with MS…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) should generally follow a regular vaccination schedule similar to their healthy peers, with certain adjustments made if they’re on particular disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), according to a group of experts in Europe who devised a set of more than 50 evidence-based guidelines for the…

I didn’t seek support immediately after my diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). To be fair, MS was just an annoyance to me at the beginning. It was simply a set of symptoms, and I was initially happy just to have an explanation for them. To be…

The sexual satisfaction of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) improved when they actively sought out ways to deal with the practical challenges related to sexuality instead of just relying on managing their emotions, a study finds. It’s therefore important for women with MS to consider a problem-focused coping strategy…

For most of the past six years, I’ve been suffering from that weekly journo disease known as “columnitis.” One column is finished, hurrah! Bathe in the relief of getting that one in the net. (It’s a football reference, American “Ted Lasso” finale fans.) We’ve also just had the…

I’ve done quite a bit of flying, for business and pleasure, over the 42 years I’ve lived with multiple sclerosis (MS). It’s not easy traveling by air with my scooter, and I can’t imagine trying to fly with a 450-pound power wheelchair. Actually, I don’t have to imagine.

Einstein said that time is relative, and as I age (gracefully, I hope), I’ve found that to be true. For example, I frequently find myself referring to events that occurred a decade or more in the past as happening “just the other day.” In my mind, I’m still…

It’s been three decades since the first treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) was approved. In that time, the field has made substantial advances — including the approval of over two dozen medications — but there’s still a long way to go to improve care for progressive forms of…

Engaging in physical activity may improve the quality of life for people newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a link that remained even after accounting for other factors such as fatigue and disability status, a study shows.

It’s not often that I dig into my somewhat sketchy knowledge from the Bachelor of Arts in economics I earned in 1980. Admittedly, it should really be described as ugly. Although I scrapped nearly one-third of my units of study, I still have the right in the U.K. (and perhaps…

We all know that the difficulty many of us with multiple sclerosis (MS) have walking can be caused by lesions that damage the nerves along the spinal cord. What if an electronic bridge could be built to carry nerve impulses over those damaged areas? That concept is being…

In the not-too-distant past, a friend shared a video clip from a competitive event with a few of us. One of the competitors had a shock of gray hair and was slowed by a noticeable limp. “Watch how smooth this guy is,” he said. As we all expressed our amazement…

For people with multiple sclerosis (MS), all forms of exercise are likely to be beneficial for physical fitness, but certain forms of exercise may be better than others at improving specific measures of fitness, according to a review of multiple clinical trials. Results suggest that resistance training — pushing…

As part of last week’s World MS Day, a documentary about the life of Mathew Embry, a multiple sclerosis (MS) patient who’s been living symptom-free for more than 27 years, has premiered on national Canadian television. The critically acclaimed documentary, called “Living Proof,” premiered June 4 on The…

My sleep schedule, according to mathematics, leaves me 11 hours — so what’s my problem? My current ultra-efficient carers arrive at 9:30 a.m. and usually get me into the wet room 15 minutes later. Maybe 20 if my bottom has been misbehaving. It’s been something of a miscreant ever since…

Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) — a training program for entry into the U.S. Army Special Forces — is rare, even among military courses. It has grueling physical aspects, but the majority of it is mental. It’s really one long test to gauge a participant’s ability to work…

More treatment centers for people with autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) are now available in Florida, as IVX Health expands its footprint across the state with the addition of two outpatient infusion and injection centers in the Fort Lauderdale area. With the new locations in Pembroke…

I’m just back from walking our dog. My wife, Laura, rescued him about a year ago, and when she heard his name was Toby, like Tobias, she thought it was a sign that he was the dog for us. We’ve had dogs before, but I’m not getting any younger or…

While fertility rates in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been increasing over time, they remain about two times lower than in the general population, a study in Italy has found. “There is a large gap in fertility between women with MS and the general population that needs to…

My shoelaces keep coming untied, my compression socks are bunched up, I bumped my shins with the vacuum again, and the shower was too hot this morning. Confused? Don’t be. I’m just getting in the spirit of National Wine Day by — oh, wait, I might have read…