quality of life

My family just returned from a lovely week-long vacation on the Gulf of Mexico. It’s always a wonderful time (and one perfectly suited to socially isolating) because we literally do nothing. We make no plans. We buy no tickets to any event or theme park. We sleep, read, and watch…

Nearly 3,000 multiple sclerosis (MS) healthcare providers and researchers  convened recently to share their findings regarding the latest developments in the diagnosis and treatment of MS. However, unlike past meetings, this year’s 34th Annual Meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers (CMSC) took place online. Virtual presentations covered the…

If laughter is the best medicine, then I have a functional pharmacy. I love to laugh and enjoy humor. If you are a friend of mine, then you know my dry wit. I use that wit to shield anxiety and fear. I ease the tension by creating humor. I…

A new digital tool aims to help people with multiple sclerosis (MS) deal with the emotional burden of their diagnosis, guiding them to focus on what matters most in their lives rather than the pain of living with MS. The self-help tool, named ACT MySelf, was developed by…

How are you? These three words are ingrained in our vernacular. The question is often asked as a kind gesture, a greeting of sort. Are we truthful in our inquiry, and are we genuinely interested in how someone is faring? The intent of this week’s column is to explain the…

“I am fine.” Three words I know as rote. I say them frequently and without hesitation. I utter them as much for others as I do for myself. My reality is too much for most. At times it is too much for me. This packaged response is almost expected. And…

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 “normal” (whatever that looks like) still feels as far away as the horizon. But I…

Healthcare providers should encourage everyone with multiple sclerosis (MS) to engage in regular exercise and keep physically active, new guidelines based on an expert panel convened by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society recommend. They also suggest different types of exercise applicable to people at varying levels of disability.

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum post “Is your MS Invisible or is it obvious?” published on Feb. 15,…

I lie on my stomach in a Downward Dog fail. I am doing yoga, or something like it. I open my eyes. I spy a golden retriever tumbleweed float across the travertine floor. I feel my body flinch. It knows how much I want to get up and clean. It…

I have a new personal hero. His name is Ralph Wendorf. We probably don’t have much in common. He’s not even an MS patient! I’ve never met him, and I likely never will. He lives across the country from me, in New Mexico, but thanks to a local broadcast that…

Specialist inpatient rehabilitation is a cost-effective strategy that can improve the clinical outcomes of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly those at more advanced stages of the disease, a study in the United Kingdom (U.K.) found. The study, “Cost-efficiency of specialist inpatient rehabilitation for adults with…

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…

Physical exercise can ease fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and potentially benefit them in many other ways, and should be part of rehabilitation programs for patients, a large review study suggests. The study, “The impact of physical exercise on the fatigue symptoms in patients with…

Life is unscripted. It is messy and uncertain, with change being the only constant. Much like living with multiple sclerosis, adapting to change is directly correlated to our ability to thrive. We are reminded of this as we adjust to our new reality in the throes of COVID-19. Seemingly…

Cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of “talk” therapy, may help ease the severity of insomnia, fatigue, and anxiety in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), improving the quality of their sleep, data from a single-site trial suggest. The study “Feasibility and Treatment Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia…

Sexual dysfunction is prevalent among women with multiple sclerosis (MS), and one way physicians can help improve their patients’ quality of life is to ask them about the problem. That finding is detailed in the study “Sexual dysfunction in women with multiple sclerosis: prevalence and impact on…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the post, “…

Like many people with multiple sclerosis, my symptoms are mostly invisible. Many days, fatigue overwhelms me and I have pain somewhere. I tingle all over. I have weird sensory symptoms such as the feeling of water…

Flowonix’s Prometra II Pump System Receives FDA Approval for Use with Intrathecal Baclofen This new pump could be a major step forward for people with multiple sclerosis who use a pump to deliver baclofen directly into their spinal column. It uses a pressure-driven system rather than a motor-driven one,…

The Spanish version of the modified Story Memory Technique improves learning and life satisfaction of Mexican patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.  The tool, developed by the Kessler Foundation, has the potential to address the lack of cognitive rehabilitation interventions that are culturally…

Urinary incontinence,  associated with poor functioning of the muscles in the pelvic area, was found to have a negative impact on daily activities like walking and overall quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. Adding pelvic floor muscle training to an MS…

Placing a feeding tube before age 50 in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with dysphagia, or difficulties swallowing, may extent their life by more than two years, a study suggests. These findings may help doctors and patients with decisions about feeding tube use, but more work is needed to better understand…

Welcome to 2020 and a new decade! I am thankful to still have the gift of life and to continue to share this space with you. I have read a multitude of writings and intentions for 2020. Resolutions are penned as the quest to live intentionally persists. 2019 was an…

Age, gender, disease subtype, degree of disability, and more factors affect lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Also, the epidemiology of LUTS must be better understood and promptly detected and treated to improve patients’ quality of life. Those findings are detailed in a new study, “…

A psychologist at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne has been awarded an incubator grant by MS Research Australia to identify ways to better detect and treat depression in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The grant given to Lisa Grech, PhD, with the School of Health Sciences at Swinburne, is…

An ability to speak more than one language may help to protect people with multiple sclerosis (MS) against the cognitive decline caused by the disease, new research suggests. The study, “Multiple sclerosis and bilingualism: Some initial findings,” showed that MS patients who speak two languages (bilingual speakers)…

Learning a second language can bolster the health-related quality of life and mental well-being of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) by working to expand areas of the brain involved in language and damaged by MS, especially in early disease stages, a study suggests. These findings were reported in the…

Small changes in daily activities, like sitting less and walking more, may be healthful for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) without the challenges of formal exercise. A new study, “Management of multiple sclerosis symptoms through reductions in sedentary behaviour: protocol for a feasibility study,” published in BMJ…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their caregivers appear to be just as satisfied with a video evaluation given by a neurologist using telemedicine as they have been with those done through an in-person visit, a review from the American Academy of Neurology reports. The review, “Teleneurology is neurology,”…