symptoms

Gut bacteria and health have been topics of considerable scientific speculation in recent years, and the field of multiple sclerosis (MS) research is no exception. But what do we really know about MS and our intestinal inhabitants? A review, “Emerging Concepts on the Gut Microbiome and Multiple Sclerosis,” published in…

Do you have any strong feelings about worms? No, not earthworms you find in the garden, or even roundworms or tapeworms that can sometimes be found in animals and humans. What I am talking about is purposely being infected with parasitic worms. OK, it may not be as gross as…

A link indeed appears to exist between multiple sclerosis (MS) and unusual changes in the bacterial composition of the gut, according to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). In their study, “Alterations of the human gut microbiome in multiple sclerosis,” published in the journal Nature Communications,…

Inflammation in a brain region called the hippocampus might explain why patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) suffer from depression far more often than patients with other chronic brain diseases. The findings, described in the report “Hippocampal Neuroinflammation, Functional Connectivity, and Depressive Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis,” published in the…

Fecal samples from a group of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) showed evidence of a different gut microbiota than that found in healthy controls, and may be a non-genetic reason for the altered immune system responses seen in MS patients. The study, “Multiple sclerosis patients have…

Disabling tremors can affect as many as half of all people with multiple sclerosis (MS), but they are inadequately treated because of limited therapeutic options and are not sufficiently being studied, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported. Their report, “Symptomatic Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Associated Tremor Among…

Editor’s Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today welcomes Laura Kolaczkowski to our team of Patient Specialists and MS bloggers. As you will read in her introductory post below, Laura brings to her new column a wealth of Multiple Sclerosis related insights, both as a patient and activist/advocate for raising awareness and research…

A retrospective study of vitamin D status and disability progression in multiple sclerosis patients — using real-life, clinical data from a large and varied group — found no  correlation between the two, although vitamin D levels may predict the occurrence of relapses in some patients. But these findings may have been limited by the lower doses of daily vitamin…

In my mind, MS is linked to glandular fever. From personal experience, there is no room for doubt of any kind. Trouble is, though, that my experience and belief is not proof. And that is why I find that efforts to establish a definite link between glandular fever, often known…

Fatigue, the most commonly reported symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), is associated with disease comorbidities such as depression, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, and anxiety, according to the study “Fatigue and Comorbidities in Multiple Sclerosis,” recently published in the International Journal of MS Care.

As we age, the risk that small blood vessels will start leaking into brain tissue increases, raising our risk of dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. New research reveals that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) also have these so-called cerebral microbleeds, and links them to increased physical and cognitive disability. When Robert Zivadinov, a professor of…

Flex Pharma, Inc., announced the start of a Phase 2 clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of FLX-787 in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who suffer from cramps, spasms, and/or spasticity as a result of the disease. The trial is being run in conjunction with Neuroscience Trials Australia. Flex Pharma’s FLX-787 is a single molecule,…

Optic neuritis is one of the symptoms of which those of us who live with multiple sclerosis on a daily basis know can set us apart from others. We are fully, and often painfully, aware that everyone is different. We all experience a different array of symptoms to similarly different…

Novel molecular imaging compounds that detect neuroinflammation in the brain of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been developed by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in Missouri, and may help to uncover the triggers of such inflammation and to better evaluate new disease treatments. The study, “Development and…

One June 3, a workshop titled “Metabolism in MS and Related Conditions” was presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), held June 1-4 in National Harbor, Maryland. One of the speakers was Dr. David Sheikh-Hamad, professor of medicine-nephrology at Baylor College of…

Researchers at Texas Woman’s University identified tai chi as a beneficial therapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with impaired balance, as it can improve their endurance and strength and decrease fatigue. The results of the study, “The Benefit of Tai Chi for Balance and Gait in People with…

Researchers from Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital found that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who complain of speech limitations or difficulty in swallowing cannot produce specific phonemes, which may be a helpful way of objectively quantifying these symptoms in MS patients. The findings were recently reported in an oral presentation titled “Rate of…

Most research in multiple sclerosis (MS) has focused on the impact of the disease on the lower extremities. To balance this, researchers at Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Connecticut thoroughly characterized upper arm and hand functions in MS patients, finding that disease duration and disability level differently affected various…

Mayis Al Dughmi, of the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Kansas Medical Center, recently presented her findings on the relationship between fatigue, measured using the Neurological Fatigue Index (NFI-MS), and sleep quality and attentiveness in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The findings indicate that cognitive…

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients using an interactive, self-guided fatigue management resource, developed by researchers from the University of Alberta in Canada, reported lower fatigue and improved cognition after three months, showing that fatigue self-management tools can contribute to the treatment of this common MS symptom. The pilot study, “…

Sexual dysfunction correlates with depression and bladder dysfunction in Hispanic patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a recent study presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC). The study, “Sexual Dysfunction and Its Correlation to Depression and Bladder Dysfunction in…

Identifying multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who suffer from dysphagia — swallowing difficulties — early on allows the prevention of aspiration pneumonia, a leading cause of death in MS. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas developed a screening tool to detect dysphagia and presented encouraging preliminary data on…

Poor sleep quality may be associated with impaired memory and decreased functional abilities in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to the study “Impact of Sleep Quality on Cognitive and Physical Function in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis.” The study was presented during the Whitaker Research Track Session II at the…

By the time I went through various tests that led to being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 14 years ago, epilepsy had already been part of my life since the age of 19. No one mentioned any link. The neurologist’s words still ring in my ears. Having already told me that MS was the diagnosis,…

There has been a great deal of talk and conjecture about the relationship between multiple sclerosis (MS) and vitamin D, often linked to living in an area lacking sunshine. Indeed, when I lived in the United Kingdom, which is notorious — or should be — for seemingly endless gray skies and…

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I’m glad to be done with cold and dreary weather. Bring on the sunshine! But my excitement is tempered a bit because, like many people with MS, I find the heat exhausting; it saps my energy and makes it even harder…

A bicycle specially designed to mimic the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) now has its own owner’s manual, and the group behind the bike’s creation is inviting anyone interested to build their own experience of the spasticity and physical discomforts so well-known to people with the disease. The manual, which…

Children and adolescents with multiple sclerosis (MS) differ from others in the composition of their gut flora, with higher levels of inflammation-causing bacteria and lower levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria, according to a study from  the University of British Columbia, Canada. The findings, supporting previous hypotheses that the composition of the gut microbial community could influence the development…

A new study suggests a strong association in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients between high levels of fatigue and mental health, quality of life (QoL), and the ability to move about and participate in daily activities, although disability is not related to fatigue levels.  These findings are of importance and highlight the…

Rebound symptoms after stopping fingolimod (Gilenya) treatment affect a “clinically relevant” number of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, a study by University of California, San Francisco, researchers reported. The study called attention to the need for determining the best method of sequencing or stopping MS treatments, and highlighted the need to identify factors…