symptoms

3D Imaging of Brain Lesions May Spot Those Most Likely to Heal, Guiding Treatment These scientists are working to create a new diagnostic tool that would allow doctors to use an MRI to look at brain lesions in 3D. This would allow them to see the shape and surface…

Vaccines are not a risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS), a large data analysis spanning more than 12,250 MS patients in Germany shows. Fewer vaccinations were given to people who — five years later — would be diagnosed with MS, compared to those who would be diagnosed with…

Last Thursday was the hottest day ever recorded in U.K. history at 101.6 degrees F. Heat sensitivity is enough to reduce me to the puddle I described last week. But it doesn’t explain the shaking of my body and the extreme pain in my right arm Thursday night. Not…

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been using an app called Floodlight to track my ability to live with my multiple sclerosis (MS). It measures things such as my balance, finger dexterity, walking speed, and cognitive ability. It even knows if I’m keeping myself shuttered in my apartment or…

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 topic “Multiple Sclerosis-related Vertigo: What Can You Do?” from Nov. 23,…

I recently saw a greeting card that read, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” No truer words. While I am grateful for my strength, there are moments when I would like another choice. Maybe it is a mind game. Perhaps I would…

No excessive relapse risk appears to exist for people with multiple sclerosis who undergo surgery that requires anesthesia, researchers report, challenging long-held assumptions associated with MS and surgery. Their single-site study, “Multiple sclerosis relapse risk in the postoperative period: Effects of…

After a week of temperatures at 95 degrees or more making it too hot to swim, today was comfortable enough for me to get back into our condo’s pool. The water temperature was perfect and cool enough to keep me refreshed. I had the best workout I’ve had this season:…

Routine screening through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) can predict long-term disease progression — leading to more certainty and informing better treatment choices, a 15-year study reported. The study, titled “Early imaging predictors of long-term…

Neuronal Circuit Likely Behind Chronic Itch in MS and Other Diseases Identified I often read posts on multiple sclerosis social media groups complaining about chronic itching. This mouse study may have found a reason for that symptom. The researchers hope that finding the cause will eventually lead to a…

Living with MS can sometimes feel like you’re performing a one-woman (or man) show. Think about it. How many times have you pretended to be OK when you didn’t feel so hot? Have you ever shown your loved ones a brave face instead of upsetting them? Ever caught yourself acting…

It’s 1 p.m. in the U.K., and it’s 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I can hardly move due to the heat. My left hand is typing this. The rest of my body has shut down. Tomorrow is forecast to be the hottest July day in recorded history in the U.K. I had set…

The nerve cell circuit, stretching from the skin to the spinal cord, that is likely responsible for the persistent itching sensation  that can afflict people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other conditions was identified in a study.

Scientists identified and “fingerprinted” a group of T-helper cells that are unusually numerous in the blood and central nervous system of people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), and may be the reason behind the neuroinflammation seen in these patients. This T-cell population carries specific markers involved in the transmission…

The percentage of Taiwanese who develop multiple sclerosis (MS) after an episode of clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is lower than that reported for other ethnicities, and those who do progress are likely to have a milder disease course, a study found, supporting how factors like geography and genetics…

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a problem for a significant number of people with multiple sclerosis (MS). As many as three in 10 may wind up needing treatment for one. So, I was concerned when I read a New York Times article reporting that UTIs are becoming harder…

Projection neurons, a specific type of nerve cell, are prone to damage in the brain of people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and could be at the root of brain atrophy (shrinkage) and the cognitive changes seen in patients. Looking at individual cells in the brain, scientists found…

Gut microbes prime immune cells called microglia to protect the brain and nervous system from neurological damage due to viral infections, according to new research in mice. The findings suggest that maintaining a healthy and diverse microbiota — the population of bacteria, fungi, and viruses within the body, especially the…

Have you ever read something and thought, “This is me, this is my MS”? It happened to me today as I read a post by Rachel Horne on the BartsMS blog. Horne writes about how some of us adapt to our MS diagnosis better, or at least differently, than…

The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) contains elevated levels of specific fatty molecules that disrupt the energy “powerhouses” of nerve cells, and appear to underlie the neurodegeneration seen on brain scans of these patients, a study reveals. The research, which compared the CSF…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) may have a greater overall risk of developing cancer than the general population, according to the results of a 58-year follow-up study of nearly 7,000 patients in Norway. Risk seems particularly high for cancers in respiratory organs, urinary organs, and the central nervous system.

The use of gadodiamide, a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) often used to help clinicians visualize brain structures in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, leads to the accumulation of gadolinium in certain regions of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients’ brains early in the course of the disease, a study has found.

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 forums. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “Do Noise and Crowds Tend to Negatively Affect You More with MS?”…

Scientists at the University of Huddersfield, U.K., are trying to develop a breath test to detect volatile molecules exhaled only by people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Doing so might offer a non-invasive and simple way to diagnose the disease. The research team now plans to undertake…

A new radiotracer called [F-18]PBR06, used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, helps detect changes in the brain’s grey matter that are linked to progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a study shows. The findings support [F-18]PBR06’s potential for detecting signs of disease progression even before patients show…

Legos, it seems, are more than just a kids’ toy. People with some neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis (MS), are using those little, colored building blocks to build better lives for themselves. An article in the latest issue of Brain & Life uses Kathleen Jordan as one example. Jordan,…

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 topic, “How Chiropractic Therapy Can Help Multiple Sclerosis Patients,” from June 1, 2018.

Patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) have difficulties perceiving the thoughts and intentions, but not the emotions, of other individuals, Kessler Foundation researchers have found. Those findings were reported in a study, “Cognitive but Not Affective Theory of Mind Deficits in Progressive MS,” that was published in…

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have more genetic variants of genes that regulate the pro-inflammatory signals of protein complexes called inflammasomes, according to new research. The findings support the importance of inflammasomes, which play an important role in the innate immune system, in the development of MS. The study,…

I’ve been living with MS for nearly 39 years and I’ve never seen the notes my neurologist has written during my office visits. My neuro did hand me a thick folder of notes several years ago. It had material dating back to my diagnosis in 1980, but when we…