January 2, 2023 Columns by Ed Tobias Could Your Hip Pain Be Related to Your MS Steroid Treatments? My hips have hurt for several years. Right now, it’s just a dull ache. But there have been times when it has been a shooting pain. Hip pain isn’t necessarily connected to your multiple sclerosis (MS), but it could be. It might be caused by alterations in your…
December 12, 2022 News by Joana Vindeirinho, PhD Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Can Ease Some MS Symptoms: Review Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) may be able to reduce fatigue, spasticity, and pain, and improve quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new meta-analysis reports. The review assessed several NIBS interventions targeting different brain regions. The results suggest that these techniques can have immediate effects…
June 20, 2022 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Neural Sleeve Improves Mobility, Reduces Pain and Depression: Cionic Cionic‘s leg-worn Neural Sleeve, recently authorized in the U.S. to aid walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions that impair mobility, reduced foot drop in a small clinical trial. Patients in the trial also reported marked reductions in pain and mental health problems, according to…
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…
February 15, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Neurodynamic Therapy Found to Reduce Pain, Improve Dexterity in Trial The addition of neurodynamic therapy ā a type of manual therapy targeting the nerves ā to a standard treatment regimen using several different approaches reduced pain sensitivity and improved dexterity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to data from a clinical trial. āTo the best of our…
January 21, 2022 Columns by John Connor The World According to MS Ennui Move along, move along. Nothing to read here. What a great start to a column! Last week, my worries about MS lifted as I was consumed by a glitch in my computer software. Iām pleased to report that Iāve found a whole series of admittedly fiddly workarounds. Iām even…
November 19, 2021 Columns by John Connor My Coffee Cup Runneth Over, Plus a Darned Interruption So, where was I last week? I was in the midst of writing this column when I was felled overnight by my long-term nemesis: a urinary tract infection (UTI). As usual, I had no idea I had one ā but hey, I was ill. Iām sure Iāve banged on…
November 5, 2021 Columns by John Connor On the Healing Powers of THC I have to admit, Iāve wheeled down the THC path a few times before. Yes, I know itās very difficult to stay on the path when under the influence. Luckily, I’ve solved this problem by only imbibing in bed. I say imbibing, because for me, smoking the stuff is…
September 17, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Assessing My Pain, From Zero to 10 Lately, I’ve been thinking about pain ā specifically, how to count my pain. When I was lying on a treatment table while my physical therapist Richard manipulated my shoulder, he asked me to rate my pain, on a scale from one to 10. I’m sure many of you…
September 16, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Class of Molecules May Offer Opioid Alternative for Treating Pain A class of molecules called positive allosteric modulators, or PAMs, may be useful in treating pain caused by nerve damage ā a common symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS) ā according to a new study that sheds light on how these molecules work. The international team of researchers behind…
August 26, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell When Restless Legs Syndrome Won’t Leave You Alone The light of the television screen illuminates the darkness. I want so much to sleep, but my body has other plans. After a hot shower and multiple medications, my legs continue to dance. The constant ache, twitch, and kick are a rhythmic routine. But my body is tired and…
August 26, 2021 News by Somi Igbene, PhD Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety Common in First Year After CIS/MS Diagnosis People newly diagnosed with clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) or multiple sclerosis (MS) frequently experience pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety in the first year after diagnosis, a new study finds. Fatigue was reported by almost two-thirds of new patients, and half experienced pain. Many individuals experienced multiple symptoms simultaneously,…
August 13, 2021 Columns by John Connor MS Presents āHorror Weekendsā I have always liked the odd horror movie, the odder the better. I was a bit of a fan of the trash Troma Studio mob, where their tongue was so firmly in their cheek it usually stuck right through it. For you youngsters out there, think the “Sharknado”…
June 18, 2021 Columns by John Connor Be Warned: Another Column All About My MS and Me! Many years ago I thrust myself into the Edinburgh International Festival. For the many who have never heard of it: It’s the largest arts festival in the world, encompassing theater, mime, dance, comedy, film, books, and sometimes even a splash of opera. For some reason I even sat through…
April 23, 2021 Columns by John Connor My Own ‘Left Hand of Darkness’ I was listening to a BBC podcast recently titled “The Sinister Hand,” about the history of left-handers. It seems that in medieval times, left-handedness was associated with sorcery. (What wasn’t?) It was only relatively recently that left-handed children were no longer forced to write right-handed ā sometimes even…
April 15, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell To Ease My Suffering, I Had to Shift My Perspective, Not My Pain Levels Many believe pain and suffering are interchangeable. While they can and often do coexist, one is not reliant on the other. Pain can occur with or without suffering, and the inverse is true. Physiological, psychological, and psychosocial factors influence our experience with each. The meanings and relationships of these three…
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…
November 12, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Fighting Through Grief While Moving Forward Overachieving is my jam. Go big or go home. I strive to be the best at whatever it is I do. Currently, I am achieving greatness in my ability to fall. Three falls in three weeks is a new record. The first one happened in the kitchen. Upon feeling myself…
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 19, 2020 News by Mary Chapman Eli Lilly Aquires Disarm, Will Develop SARM1 Program for Axonal Degeneration Eli Lilly has reached an agreement to acquire Disarm Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing a new class of disease-modifying treatments for patients with axonal degeneration, including those with multiple sclerosis (MS). In its announcement, Lilly committed to advancing Disarm’s prospective therapies, currently in preclinical development.
October 13, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace How to Make Subcutaneous Injections Less Painful When I was first diagnosed with MS, I didn’t have a choice about what disease-modifying therapy (DMT) I could take. My neurologist held up his hand and pointed one by one to each finger, with each…
October 9, 2020 Columns by John Connor Fighting the Beast It was 3 p.m. last Thursday. Things should have been good. I had filed the copy for my previous column the day before. Ultimately, some of my outrageous musings had gone, and some I considered even worse had stayed. It’s an age-old journalism, radio, and TV writer’s trick: If…
October 9, 2020 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Almost Half of US MS Patients Surveyed Report Using Cannabis for Nerve Pain, Sleep In a nationwide survey of cannabis-based therapy use among Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS), almost half of respondents endorsed such products, primarily for nerve-based pain and sleep disturbances, and the perceived benefits for sleep and pain were highly correlated.Ā The reported…
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 12, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD Spasticity Scales May Not Reflect Sativex Benefits in MS Patients, Study Suggests SativexĀ (nabiximols) eases spasticity-associated symptoms in multiple sclerosisĀ (MS) patients, including those with no significant improvements in a validated spasticity scale, according to a large study from Italy. The findings support previous studies suggesting that spasticity scales may not be enough to evaluate patientsā responses to Sativex and to…
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…
March 18, 2020 News by David Melamed, PhD MS Patients Find Cannabis Helpful for Easing Pain, Spasticity, Study Reports About 85% of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) usingĀ cannabis find it to be helpful for pain, and 79% find it eases spasticity, a new study reports. The study, “Cannabis use in people with multiple sclerosis and spasticity: A cross-sectional analysis,” was published in…
March 12, 2020 News by Forest Ray PhD THC:CBD Oral Spray Sativex Provides Consistent Relief for Treatment-resistant MS Spasticity Sativex (nabiximols), a THC:CBD oral spray, consistently relieves the pain and severity of treatment-resistant spasticityĀ in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a recent study. An analysis of theĀ Sativex as Add-on therapy Vs. further optimizedĀ first-line ANTispasticsĀ (SAVANT) study revealed that Sativex, used in…
January 21, 2020 News by Iqra Mumal, MSc Endonovo Therapeutics Issued Broad US Patent Covering Electromagnetic Treatment for MS The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a patent to Endonovo Therapeutics for Application No. 15/549,748, which covers the company’s technique and device for electromagnetic treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Endonovo has a pipeline of “Electroceuticals” ā wearable, electronic, non-invasive therapeutic devices. These devices…
December 9, 2019 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Atlas Biotechnologies to Fund Research into Cannabis Treatment for MS, Similar Diseases Atlas BiotechnologiesĀ will fund and provide support to three research projects at the University of AlbertaĀ to possibly identify cannabis component(s) that could help people with neurological diseases likeĀ multiple sclerosis (MS). The cannabis plant produces hundreds of biological compounds, the best-known being tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ā the psychoactive compound primarily…