Life with multiple sclerosis (MS) is unpredictable, involving many unknowns. Symptoms can come and go, flare up without warning, and affect every aspect of our health, from movement to memory. Managing MS is already a full-time job, and the added weight of life’s uncertainties often makes it even more…

Trauma is not stress, and you can’t meditate your way out of it. I’d never considered this before. Of all the talks I attended last month at the Institute for Functional Medicine’s annual conference in San Diego, the one that has stayed with me most as someone living…

Infections and stressful life events in childhood may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), while childhood exercise is associated with lower MS risk, according to a study. The findings, part of the German National Cohort (NAKO) population study, imply that programs to encourage physical activity and prevent…

I knew that starting my college journey in a a different city, less than a year after receiving my relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) diagnosis, would be challenging because I didn’t fully understand what was happening in my body. Even though my college, the University of Texas at Austin,…

Lightning struck at 3 a.m. the other night. The alarm system in my apartment blared — beep, beep, beep — for hours. The dog was barking, the cat was zooming, and I wasn’t sleeping. My stress meter was off the scale. We know that stress can trigger of…

I speak Morse code. It’s my second language, and I’m fluent. I’ve been speaking Morse code since I got my ham radio license nearly 63 years ago. (My call letters are KR3E.) At first, I received what was sent at a very slow speed of five words per minute,…

Most available studies suggest a connection between childhood trauma and multiple sclerosis (MS), from earlier symptom onset to potentially poorer outcomes, but more research is needed to understand this association, a review paper highlights. While several high-quality studies have been published, the scientists noted “considerable heterogeneity [variability] in methodology, including inconsistencies…

The last few years have been rough for a whole host of reasons, and I think it’s safe to say that most of us in the United States feel utterly lost and burnt out. There’s no shortage of things to be stressed about and afraid of. I feel like…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients undertaking stress-reducing activities — particularly physical and relaxation activities or meditation — at least once a week are less likely to have depression, an international study shows. Additional links were found between physical activity and reduced risk of fatigue, and between meditation and a greater…

A Phase 3 trial will test the ability of a group resilience training program, called READY, to promote quality of life and better psychosocial outcomes in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Involving more than 200 MS patients, the trial will compare the benefits of READY training against those of…

Cognition-targeting exercise, when combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — a type of talk therapy — may further ease fatigue and other symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study found. The study, “The added value of cognition-targeted exercise versus symptom-targeted exercise for multiple sclerosis fatigue: A randomized…

Actively taking steps to cope with the chronic stress of multiple sclerosis (MS) — from keeping a sense of humor to seeking emotional and tangible support — can help to improve patients’ quality of life, a small questionnaire-based study from Poland suggests. The study, “The Role of…

After speaking about hypnotherapy recently with a few people I know, I realized that many of them didn’t know that hypnosis can be used to manage stress and anxiety. One person remarked, “What do I need to say to get you to quack like a duck?” Well, it’s not like…

I recently wrote about my decision to try hypnotherapy. I’d been feeling out of control over my mental state following a multiple sclerosis flare. I finally admitted that I needed help.  I had an initial phone consultation with my…

Childhood trauma can affect disease progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) and treatment in adulthood, a study in mice suggests. The study shows that mice that experienced early-life trauma were more likely to develop an autoimmune condition and less likely to respond to common treatment with interferon beta. The study,…

Well, folks, we made it to the end of a very long political season and an even longer week. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel a bit relieved. In fact, I have tension and stress trapped in every muscle and joint of my body. And that’s not…

“I’m just lazy,” I told myself. “Why can’t I do the things I need to do? I’m so exhausted and in pain all the time, I just want to sleep. Are my MS symptoms getting worse?” My body was driving…

You’re stressed, and Halo may know it. Halo is a new Amazon service the company says can judge how stressed you are, in part by the tone of your voice. The service uses a wristband that connects to a mobile app. A small sensor in the band monitors temperature, heart…

I like my husband. I like his generous heart, his humility, and his penchant for Tommy Bahama shorts, T-shirts, and flip-flops. Sure, I love him. Yet our love has changed throughout our 23-year marriage. We have traded passion for patience and lust for loyalty. While each exists, they are…

Bookmark this page! Why? Because in this column, I’ll give you three techniques to help manage your anxiety. Anxiety and stress are unhelpful for anyone’s mind or body, particularly with a chronic illness like multiple sclerosis. Feeling anxious or stressed is our brain’s mechanism to prepare the body…

Relationships between multiple sclerosis patients and their intimate partners were enhanced when the couple worked together to make lifestyle changes, and to develop skills to improve communication, a study shows. 

I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed the endless hours of Barney I was forced to endure when I babysat kids in the 1990s, but “The Clean Up Song” has stuck with me. Why? For one thing, it worked like a charm to get the house…

Can you use your mind to attack your MS, just as you use things such as medications and physical therapy? Some people who believe in the benefits of mindfulness think you can, at least to some extent. Mindfulness is defined as “the basic human ability to be fully present,…

Patients’ perceptions of stress and sleep quality are both linked to their sense of cognitive difficulties and depression, and focusing on these perceptions may be a way of treating depressive symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS), a study reports. The research, “Perceived cognitive deficits and depressive symptoms in…

How do you manage stress when you are stressed? How do you avoid letting stress dominate not only your mind but also your physical being? I wish I knew. At my first clinic following my MS diagnosis, the doctor warned me about stress and its effect on MS. I…

Since the onset of my MS, I have been acutely aware that stress and anxiety can wreak havoc on my body. Being anxious is not a comfortable feeling, whether you have a chronic illness or not. This past weekend was my husband’s celebration of life service. With his…

The Christmas season is upon us — decorations, shopping, and get-togethers dominate the month of December. If you tune into the Hallmark channel you will see this season as synonymous with love, laughter, and an abundance of cheer. With joy the prevailing theme it can be difficult to experience…

Chronic stress and inflammation in the brain can cause multi-organ dysfunction including severe gut failure, mediated by a newly identified nerve pathway in animal models of multiple sclerosis, a Japanese study shows. MS is an autoimmune disease caused by CD4+ T-cells that cross the blood-brain barrier protecting the central nervous system. This inflames and stresses the brain and spinal cord. In previous studies, a team led by professor Masaaki Murakami of Japan's Hokkaido University showed that these cells could cross the blood-brain barrier in specific sites. These entrance sites depend on brain regional activation, which was found to be triggered by specific nerve interactions — a mechanism the team called gateway reflexes. In collaboration with other Japanese researchers and a team from Germany, the project aimed to address the potential correlation among chronic stress, brain inflammation and organ failures in MS. Using mice with MS-like disease — the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model — researchers found that animals that had autoreactive CD4+ T-cells and which were exposed to stressful conditions developed severe symptoms such as gastrointestinal failure, or even death. Detailed analysis of the animals' brains showed that in stressed mice, CD4+ T-cells accumulated in two specific sites in the center of the brain around blood vessels. This event would cause inflammation around those vessels, and activation of a nerve pathway that is commonly turned off. This switch led to gut dysfunction, bleeding and failure. "These results demonstrate a direct link between brain micro-inflammation and fatal gastrointestinal diseases via the establishment of a new neural pathway under stress," Murakami, the study's senior author, said in a news release. Researchers were able to prevent gut symptoms by inhibiting inflammation in the brain or blocking the nerve pathway responsible for driving the signals from the brain to the gastrointestinal tract. "Micro-inflammation in the brain is also seen in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease," Murakamai concluded. "So it's of particular interest to investigate possible connections between brain micro-inflammations and organ dysfunctions, including those within the brain itself, in those patients."

The stress of caring for a family member with multiple sclerosis (MS) or another neurodegenerative disease may directly affect the quality of care, according to a study showing that poor caregiver mental health causes higher mortality rates among the patients they care for. The study, published in the journal Proceedings…

In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. **** Air Pollution May Trigger Relapses in MS Patients, French Study Finds Attention if you live in location where the air…