July 8, 2022 Columns by John Connor Living With MS: ‘That Was the Week That Was’ Truly Awful Monday Unlike Prince, my Monday wasnāt manic. It was barreling along quite sedately until my wife, Jane, casually noted, “Remember, youāve got a dental appointment on Wednesday morning.” Er, no, I hadnāt remembered. It was somewhat churlish of me, as Iād been waiting for this appointment for nigh on…
April 29, 2022 Columns by John Connor The MSer Who Lay in Bed for 2 Years and Can Now Walk Again My column’s handle is “Fall Down, Get Up Again” because the first piece I wrote for Multiple Sclerosis News Today was titled “A Mountain to Climb with MS ā in My Living Room.” That column got me this gig five years ago. It was set in 2012, mind you,…
April 18, 2022 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Deep Brain Stimulation, IMCY-0141, Foralumab, Vumerity Select Brain Stimulation May Ease MS Tremor, But More Study Needed This is encouraging news for the large group of people with MS who are bothered by some sort of tremor. But the procedure to suppress these tremors isn’t simple. We’re talking about deep brain stimulation, where electrodes are…
April 15, 2022 Columns by John Connor A Winning Belt Turns Into WrestleMania It was a moment of clarity. Unfortunately, my attempt at making a bright, clear consommĆ© has for the moment turned into a muddled chowder! Even worse, it was writing this column that started it. Iāve written so often in this column about using my Molift assistive device for transfers…
April 1, 2022 Columns by John Connor Old Friends, Broken Chairs, UTI Admissions, and Redemption The week started with a bang, albeit with a hint of underlying anxiety. Friends and former work colleagues gathered during the first days of spring to chat in my sun-lathered back garden in South London. COVID-19 lateral flow tests had all been passed. Previously, weād spent years working together on…
March 25, 2022 Columns by John Connor The Heel That Won’t Heal The dull throbbing always hits a crescendo “in the wee small hours,” as Mr. Sinatra ā or rather his songwriters ā so aptly put it. Iām referring to a wound thatās been with me for over a year now. True, it disappeared for a teeny while, when my heel…
December 22, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD 3 New COVID-19 Treatments Now Available to MS Patients in UK People with multiple sclerosis (MS) living in the U.K. are now eligible to receive one of three new treatments for COVID-19 that are meant to prevent serious disease in at-risk populations who tested positive for the virus. First available under this plan were Regeneron and Rocheās antibody-based therapy…
December 20, 2021 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD NICE Still Opposes Adding Fampyra to NHS for England The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in England is set to again recommend against adding Fampyra (fampridine) to the list of medications available to multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with walking difficulties through the countryās national health service (NHS). The poor cost-effectiveness of Fampyra ā sold…
November 12, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD Ponvory Now Available in Scotland at Low or No Cost Through NHS TheĀ Scottish Medicines ConsortiumĀ (SMC)Ā has recommended thatĀ Ponvory (ponesimod) be offered through the National Health Service (NHS) Scotland to people with active, relapsing forms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS). The decision means that the oral therapy will be available at low or no cost to patients with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS),…
October 11, 2021 News by Patricia Inacio, PhD NICE Opposes Ponvory Being Added to NHS for England and Wales The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will not recommend that Ponvory (ponesimod) be added to the National Health Service (NHS) of England and Wales for people with active, relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The provisional decision, made because Ponvory was not found to be…
October 1, 2021 Columns by John Connor Thanks to a Wheelchair Mishap, I Was ‘Busy Goin’ Nowhere’ I was tryin’ to find lots of things to do while being trapped at my desk because of a wheelchair mishap. Apologies for my adaption of Bing Crosby’s rendition of that happy-go-lucky song “Busy Doing Nothing.” I was trapped because at 8 p.m. last Friday night, the wire that…