July 22, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD MS Patients with Social Support Slept Better During Pandemic: Study Greater feelings of social support predicted better sleep quality in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) during the COVID-19 pandemic, a study shows. Specifically, greater help with daily tasks and more leisure activities with others were the types of social support identified, after adjusting for potential influencing factors, as…
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…
April 6, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah The Building Blocks of Becoming a Busy Bee āSerendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you’ve found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.ā ā Lawrence Block When the world was thrown into lockdown at the dawn of COVID-19, I was already an old hand at functioning…
January 7, 2022 Columns by John Connor As Omicron Spreads, I’m Keeping My Head Down I’m pretty sure that wherever you are, you’re responding the same as we all are to the ravages of the latest Bond villain, that dastardly omicron variant of the coronavirus! OK, pipe down, Kiwis. The whole world knows the extreme lengths you’ve gone to avoid a massive COVID-19 outbreak. If…
December 3, 2021 News by Marisa Wexler, MS Immune-suppressing Medicines May Reduce COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy A class of immune-suppressing medications called TNF-alpha inhibitors can reduce the efficacy of vaccines for COVID-19, according to a study that included patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. The results also suggest that a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine may help to protect patients with…
September 24, 2021 Columns by John Connor Despite the Nerves, I Attended My First Family Gathering in 2 Years I know that here in England, COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted for about two months. But trepidation has now been instilled in me. It doesnāt help that the vast number of people catching the virus are still a daily news item, nearly two years after the start of the…
July 9, 2021 Columns by John Connor Lockdown Blues: Well That Was a Close Shave! Last year, winter never quite arrived, and spring kept springing up before being crushed down again. We imperceptibly melded into summer. Then the autumn leaves hung on, and hung on some more. But these days, would Mr. Sinatra have to get his lyricist to do a rewrite? Some of…
April 16, 2021 Columns by Jamie Hughes The Value of Looking Ahead Next week, I will be celebrating my second āquarantine birthday,ā which is both amazing and sad. I honestly had no idea weād still be dealing with COVID-19 for more than a year, and what a strange and perplexing time it has been. I think the thing that has hit me…
February 4, 2021 News by Diana Campelo Delgado Telemedicine Found Effective During Italy’s COVID-19 Lockdown Telemedicine is a feasible and effective method of remote care for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, an Italian study suggests. The study, āTelemedicine during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic: A Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Outpatients Service Perspective,ā was published in the journal Neurology International. The…
November 20, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias Travel During COVID-19: Should We Stay or Should We Go? The temperature’s dropping. The wind is whipping. It’s time for my wife, Laura, and me to head south, leaving cold, uncomfortable Maryland for the welcoming warmth of southwest Florida. Or is it? Though I once swore I’d never become a snowbird, a few years ago, we spent a week on…
September 9, 2020 News by Marta Figueiredo, PhD COVID-19 Pandemic Had Minimal Emotional Impact in Progressive MS Patients, Survey Finds While theĀ COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the psychological well-being of people with progressive forms of multiple sclerosisĀ (MS), it led to minimal changes in depression, anxiety, and quality of life, according to data from an international survey. This was true even for the 4% of patients who reported…
July 27, 2020 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Ketamine, Arbaclofen ER, Bafiertam, UK Health Services Ketamine May Help Treat MS-related Fatigue, Small Pilot Trial Suggests I’m tired ā I mean really bushed. Today, despite my daily dose of modafinil, I have to sit and think, “What was I starting to do?” before doing it. (I had to look at a list on my phone…
July 23, 2020 News by Joana Carvalho, PhD UK Health Services Failing MS Patient Needs Under Pandemic, Survey Finds A vast majority ā 7 out of every 10 ā healthcare professionals working with multiple sclerosis (MS) patients across the U.K. believe health services are failing to meet their needs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an online survey conducted by theĀ MS SocietyĀ and the MS…
May 22, 2020 Columns by Jamie Hughes Eugene Peterson and Lessons About Intentional Living The last few months have been interesting for obvious reasons. All of our routines have been toppled over like a stack of blocks, things that were once mundane now feel alien, and getting back to ānormalā (whatever that looks like) still feels as far away as the horizon. But I…
April 21, 2020 Columns by Jessie Ace MS Patients Face Additional Barriers Due to the Coronavirus Well, this is super weird. Being told to stay home and leave our houses only for food, medication, or exercise is bizarre for those of us in England. Itās starting to take a toll on my mental health.Ā The other day, I stood in line at…
April 10, 2020 Columns by John Connor Becoming Self-absorbed with MS During the Pandemic With everything being so awful, the goal is to write uplifting copy. OK, sounds like my sort of gig. One way of dealing with things is to become self-absorbed with the old MS. I think it’s getting jealous. How can a mere virus get all this attention? MS: “I’m far…
April 2, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell I’m Choosing to Let My Spirit Shine During the COVID-19 Crisis We are living in unprecedented times. Years from now, references will be made to COVID-19. Numbers of those afflicted and those we lost will live on in print. Future generations will learn how phrases such as “social distancing” and “stop the spread” originated. This pandemic will leave a…
March 6, 2020 Columns by John Connor You Know Things Are Bad When the Banks Tell You to Wear a Mask I know the new strain of coronavirus is bad, but in the face of impending doom, I’m likely to find humor. Anyone who has had more aggressive disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) like Lemtrada (alemtuzumab)Ā and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) likely has a compromised immune system. After all, this is exactly what…