symptoms

The common cold is upon me as I sit here laboring to breathe, with water-soaked eyes and a rumbling cough. I am under attack, an enemy has infiltrated my multiple sclerosis-weakened immune system. The antagonists have found a warm home and they are fighting to stay. It is…

Here is my Pick of the Week’s News, as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Sense of Smell Impaired in Half of Multiple Sclerosis Patients in Study For very many years I have known that my sense of smell has not been as good as that considered normal…

Many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have a reduced sense of smell, and the more relapses they have, the worse the problem, according to a study suggesting that smell may be a marker for the disease’s progression. Findings also suggested a connection between reduced sense of taste and MS progression. The…

Two multiple sclerosis (MS) patients developed severe brain inflammation after being treated with Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), researchers report, raising questions about the therapy. A definite link between the lesions and the treatment, however, was not established. The patients’ symptoms were successfully controlled with a blood transfusion and treatment with rituximab (brand name Rituxan,…

Want to know what living with MS feels like? Take a ride on this bike. Those of us who have MS know that our disease has lots of symptoms. There are the legs that feel like they have 20-pound weights on them … balance that can have you…

Certain cannabinoids reduce spasticity symptoms in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a report  from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that scrutinized published research about the benefits and hazards of cannabis and cannabinoid use. Cannabinoids also show proven effect in other areas that may be important to MS patients, but they are linked…

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with Tysabri (natalizumab) is linked to better outcomes if the condition does not give rise to actual symptoms and is diagnosed early. Limited brain lesions and more protective immune responses were also seen in patients who fared better, but researchers…

It’s often said of the 2.5 million of people in the world who have multiple sclerosis that no two have the same symptoms. Indeed, that is why it is known as the Snowflake disease. And the wide variety of symptoms can be well-illustrated by looking…

  When thinking about multiple sclerosis (MS), it’s important to remember there are four distinct types of the disease. Most of you well know this, so I’ll just mention them here: relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS); secondary progressive MS; primary progressive MS, and clinically isolated syndrome. (Anyone needing or wishing more information…

Researchers have identified two factors that allow Th17 cells —  which drive multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune conditions — to form memory cells in the body and cause repeated symptom flare-ups. Knowing the identity of the molecules, which are immune mediators called cytokines, will make it possible for scientists to search…

As I was looking down typing one of my articles recently, I experienced a unique pain in my neck. It was one I haven’t felt before. It was a sharp electrifying pain that started on the left side of my neck, and propelled itself on a downward zig-zagging path…

Loss of hearing symptoms such as tinnitus are not usually attributed to multiple sclerosis, but for those with MS who do experience tinnitus, like me, they can be very annoying. The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) describes the symptoms as: “the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present.

When I was a child my teeth had a lot of cavities So, I had lots of fillings in my mouth. The fillings were silver amalgam, which contain about 50% mercury. Mercury is a pretty toxic metal. In fact, these days if you break a thermometer and its mercury spills…

Alterations in microorganisms in the brains of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients could contribute to underlying disease mechanisms, including demyelination, according to researchers. The study, “Brain microbiota disruption within inflammatory demyelinating lesions in multiple sclerosis,” was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It is widely recognized that the…

The less oxygen that a mouse with multiple sclerosis (MS) has in the gray matter of its brain, the more mental and physical deterioration it is likely to have, a new study suggests. The study confirms previous research indicating a connection between low oxygen levels in a mouse’s gray matter and the development…

Multiple sclerosis is so weird. Sometimes I just put up with a strange sensation or painful problem because I do not know how to describe it to the doctor without sounding crazy. I hope the problems will just go away, and sometimes they do. Maybe I am a little…

Palliative care helps to ease the symptoms of serious illnesses, providing people with cancer and those with other life-altering diseases, like multiple sclerosis (MS) or cystic fibrosis, a better quality of life, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the study, “Association Between Palliative Care And Patient…

  I am thankful for a lot of things in my life and my multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis is one of them. Before learning it was MS, I was on a very long roller-coaster ride of unexplained symptoms. Test after test came back normal. Yet, I still had weak…

Here is my Pick of the Week’s News as published by Multiple Sclerosis News Today. Effectiveness and Safety of DMDs Top Patient Concerns with These Therapies, Survey Says Having progressive multiple sclerosis, the issue of drugs that are disease modifying therapies (DMTs) has never arisen in my…

Quanterix and UmanDiagnostics are working to advance an assay capable of detecting neuron damage in a blood sample — a tool that could aid in the early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative conditions. The collaboration brings Quanterix’ Simoa technology together with Uman’s antibodies against neurofilament light (Nf-L) — a…

In a cross-sectional study, researchers found that sexual dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is linked to fatigue and depression. Treating these factors and identifying their causes is a potential strategy to treat the problem. The study, “Sexual function in multiple sclerosis and associations with demographic, disease…

Voters in four U.S. states on Nov. 8 chose to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and those in three other states approved the medicinal use of cannabis — all gains for pharmaceutical and other companies designing cannabis-based therapies for people with long-term chronic ills whose symptoms might be helped with these…

Researchers have discovered that glial cells can also participate in pain sensation and enhance it in several disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The study, “Gliogenic LTP spreads widely in nociceptive pathways,” was published in the journal Science. Our sensation of pain is processed in the brain…

Advances in brain imaging are making it possible to visualize early and ongoing events in multiple sclerosis (MS) — beginning with the first signs of inflammation caused by immune cells entering the brain. Should the new technique become available to physicians, it likely will not only allow for more precise diagnoses, but…

Multiple sclerosis, as with other neurological disorders, brings a lot of changes to our bodies. Many changes and symptoms are much more common than others. It is the lesser-known conditions that MS evokes that sparked my interest for this column. Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA): is a rare condition reported to…

“I can come over and stab you, if Gramma can’t do it,” read the Facebook post from my oldest son.  “Aw … thanks, kiddo,” I replied. Some things seem more interesting when taken out of context!  Of course, most of you will realize that my son was offering to…

Several people have asked me why I choose to publicly share my multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis and experiences with chronic illnesses. Some ask in admiration, stating how they wish they were comfortable enough to also do so, while others ask in judgment and condemnation. I have been told that people…

I thought I’d finish writing this last night, but I was too tired. Same thing the night before, and I’m sure this sounds familiar to a lot of you. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society estimates about 80% of the people who have MS have fatigue as one of…

Researchers at McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Canada developed a new tool to diagnose cachexia — also called wasting syndrome. It’s characterized by weight loss, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and a significant loss of appetite in someone who is not trying to lose weight, mainly in cancer patients. The tool may also…

Years before I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the administrator at my job assumed one day that I had been drinking or that I was on something. My balance was a little off and I bumped into a wall right in front of her. I didn’t think anything of it…