March 14, 2024 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Exercise improves mental health, life quality for MS patients: Analysis Getting physical exercise can improve subjective well-being and health-related quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new meta-analysis shows. “Exercise interventions, especially aerobic or combined aerobic and resistance training, should be implemented in clinical practice to promote mental health” and health-related quality of life in people…
February 16, 2024 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Online therapy platform found to boost mental health of patients COMPASS, a digital tool that provides support for managing the daily challenges of living with a long-term health condition such as multiple sclerosis (MS), significantly reduces psychological distress and improves mental health in these patients, data from a randomized clinical trial show. The intervention consists of multiple online modules…
January 31, 2024 Columns by Mike Parker I’m struggling with mental health as MS causes major life changes Because multiple sclerosis (MS) has changed much of my life in a short amount of time, I’m now fighting mental health issues. Things have been especially tough since the start of the new year. Usually, I’d spend January working, planning holiday time, and looking at my calendar to…
December 26, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Remote coaching plus online tips ease stress of MS caregiving Remote coaching sessions to support the mental and emotional health of informal multiple sclerosis (MS) caregivers, coupled with online information, showed significant benefits after four months, according to a pilot study. These coaching sessions ā known as psychoeducation ā focused on information, support, and strategies for caring and planning…
December 8, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Mediterranean diet linked to better mental health in older MS patients Elderly adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) who adhere more to a Mediterranean diet tend to have less severe disability and fewer mental health, sleep, and cognitive problems, according to a new study. “This study has provided evidence that adopting [a Mediterranean diet] at higher levels was associated with lower…
October 9, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Mental health can trouble MS patients 5 years before diagnosis Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues are nearly twice as common in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the five years preceding disease onset than they are in the general public, a study reports. These findings add to growing evidence that people with MS often go through a…
March 3, 2023 News by Marisa Wexler, MS ACTRIMS 2023: Ibudilast did not lift life quality in progressive MS trial Treatment with the experimental oral therapy ibudilast (MN-166) does not significantly improve quality-of-life measures compared with a placebo among people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), according to new data from a Phase 2 clinical trial. Analyses from the trial suggest that a marker of nerve damage…
February 20, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD ACTRIMS 2023: Forum opens Thursday with theme of ‘going viral’ The multiple sclerosis (MS) community is gearing up for the eighth annual Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ACTRIMS) Forum, taking place this week both virtually and in San Diego, California. The yearly meeting, occurring Feb. 23-25 at theĀ Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, is bringing together…
December 14, 2022 by BioNews Staff Expert Voices: Caring for mental health with multiple sclerosis In this installment of our āExpert Voicesā series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked psychologist Amy MB Sullivan to answer some of your questions related to implementing integrative medicine in multiple sclerosisĀ care. Sullivan is a board-certified staff clinical health psychologist and the director of behavioral medicine at the Mellen…
September 7, 2022 News by Margarida Maia, PhD High-intensity Resistance Training May Help MS Patients With Fatigue Three months of once-weekly sessions of high-intensity resistance training ā consisting of strength exercises followed by a short recovery between sets ā effectively eased fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients experiencing low energy and tiredness, a trial in Sweden shows. This intervention also lessened feelings of depression and anxiety,…
August 25, 2022 Columns by Stephen De Marzo The Difference Between Living and Existing After My PPMS Diagnosis Itās been a year and a half since I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). I still have use of my limbs and am able to walk, albeit shakily, without a walker. My eyesight has not been affected, I drive, and am able to carry on a…
August 23, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Itās OK Not to Be OK: What to Do When You Feel Stuck in a Rut For the last few months, Iāve been mired in something I can only describe as a funk. My job, my family, my faith, my entire life ā no matter what aspect weāre talking about, I felt like I was stuck. I mean like soul-in-a-straitjacket stuck. Honestly, I hadnāt felt anything…
July 22, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Step Up to the Mic: The Value in Doing the Things That Terrify You Back in November, I told you all about my decision to start taking vocal lessons with a coach. Well, Iāve been at it for about eight months or so, taking an hour-long lesson every other week, and while I can tell that Iāve made some progress, Iām still not…
July 13, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Women with MS More Likely to Be Sexually, Emotionally Abused Rates of sexual and emotional abuse are higher in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) compared with women in the general population, according to a new study from Norway. These women are also at more than two times higher risk of being revictimized, which occurs when a person who has…
June 17, 2022 Columns by John Connor Five Years of Writing This Column. What a Surprise Compared with living with multiple sclerosis (MS), the anxiety of what on water (Earth has always struck me as a misnomer as water comprises 71% of our planetās surface) I’m going to write about next week is but a slight fluttering. Yer, yer, I know; underneath itās…
June 2, 2022 News by Vanda Pinto, PhD Pandemic’s Negative Aspects Tied to Worse Disability in MS Patients Worsening disability was associated with worry about COVID-19 in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the U.S. and Italy, a study evaluating the pandemic’s impact has found. In both countries, MS patients with greater psychological disabilities, such as depression, were more likely to have worrying thoughts, while those…
May 18, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah After Standing Still, Finding My Next Step āThe carousel never stops turning.ā ā the TV drama “Greyās Anatomy” At the 2019 European Patients’ Forum Congress in Brussels, which focused on patient involvement in healthcare, attendees were invited to write down a list of goals they wished to achieve in the next 12 months. After rolling my…
May 6, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes We Have to Make the Effort to Care Living with multiple sclerosis (MS) is hard. I know this is hardly a revelation, especially to those of us who struggle with it on the daily, but I felt like it needed to be said. I was scanning through articles on this site recently, seeing what my fellow…
May 4, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah Recovering My Self-esteem After Adapting to MS-related Incontinence Without hesitation, I would say that my bladder and bowel issues have been the hardest symptoms to manage and overcome following myĀ MS diagnosis. It comes down to one thing: the fear of having an accident in public.
April 29, 2022 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Survey Results Show Impact of MS in All Aspects of Life Multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) affects all aspects of life, from physical and mental health to relationships, and from work and finances to hobbies and holidays, according to results from an online survey conducted by the U.K.ās MS Trust. Most respondents said they wanted more support to manage their fatigue, improve…
April 18, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Active Social Life Linked to Better Physical, Psychological Health Greater engagement in social activities and positive social support were associated with better physical and psychological health among people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a recent study. These data “suggest that social integration and social support should be a crucial part of MS management,” the researchers wrote, adding that…
April 13, 2022 by BioNews Staff Expert Voices: Improving multiple sclerosis patient-provider relationships In this installment of our āExpert Voicesā series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Annie Brewster, MD, to answer some of your questions about navigating difficult patient-provider relationships. Brewster is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and a practicing internist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She is…
April 11, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS New Bouts of Depression, Anxiety Linked to Pandemic, US Survey Finds Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) report new bouts of depression and anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but factors that often influence such mental health concerns were not associated with anxiety or depression in the patient group Ā surveyed for a recent U.S. study. “We found that…
March 4, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes More Than 50 Shades of Gray Spring is rapidly approaching. Itās warming up outside. The trees are starting to bloom. And inside our home, I am once again plotting to refresh the place. Out with old decorations, and in with the new! Declutter that closet! Donate the table and chairs that still look great because you…
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 15, 2021 News by Yedida Y Bogachkov PhD Pets Raise Sense of Well-being in Pandemic, But Challenges Remain Owning a dog, cat or other household pet during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has helped multiple sclerosis (MS) patients gain a better overall sense of their health and well-being, a single-site survey by mail of people in the U.K. reported. But pet-owning patients reported no significant improvements in their…
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,…
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 16, 2021 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson The Peril of Toxic Positivity ā Too Real to Pretend āLook on the bright side.ā Someone just said this to me days ago regarding the loss of a very dear friend. The bright side? I demanded to know what the bright side of this situation could be. There was no satiable explanation given in that moment. I am also…
June 18, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes You Donāt Always Need to Fix It I donāt know if youāve noticed, but most people donāt like a problem without a solution. If something isnāt working correctly, theyād rather fix, alter, or throw it out and start all over than live with āwrongness.ā Now, thatās great when it involves garage door openers, burnt-out lightbulbs, or shoddy…