April 17, 2024 News by Marisa Wexler, MS AAN 2024: Fertility treatment in MS doesn’t increase relapse risk Undergoing fertility treatment with assistive reproductive technologies does not increase the likelihood of having a relapse for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are taking a disease-modifying therapy (DMT), according to a new analysis. “The results are reassurance for women with MS who plan to undergo assistive reproductive…
February 15, 2024 News by Steve Bryson, PhD MS trial to test magnetic brain stimulation for overactive bladder A small clinical trial in Texas is testing whether a noninvasive magnetic brain stimulation procedure can ease the symptoms of overactive bladder in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). The randomized Phase 2 study (NCT06072703) is ongoing at Houston Methodist Hospital, and is recruiting about 29 women with stable…
January 12, 2024 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Compassion-focused therapy eases thoughts about suicide, pain Engaging in online sessions of compassion-focused therapy, which works toward getting people to become more compassionate about themselves, may help women with multiple sclerosis (MS) deal with suicidal thoughts, a small study suggests. Compassion-focused therapy also may help these women overcome pain catastrophizing, which is a tendency to view…
July 10, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Sexual dysfunction could be an issue for 61% of women with MS Women with multiple sclerosis (MS) are three times more likely to face problems with sexual intimacy than are their healthy counterparts, according to a recent meta-analysis. About 61% of women with MS were estimated to have some degree of sexual dysfunction, with the most common being low…
June 20, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD T-cell changes reflect pregnancy’s protective effects in MS Changes in the gene activity within immune T-cells explain why women with multiple sclerosis (MS) improve during pregnancy, a study reports. Gene activity changes during and after pregnancy were highly similar between MS patients and healthy women. Many of the genes whose activity was altered during pregnancy were associated…
May 26, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Fertility rates about 2 times lower in women with MS: Study in Italy While fertility rates in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been increasing over time, they remain about two times lower than in the general population, a study in Italy has found. āThere is a large gap in fertility between women with MS and the general population that needs to…
April 24, 2023 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Region in Japan sees steady increase in MS prevalence over 20 years Tokachi, a region in northern Japan, has seen a steady increase in the prevalence or proportion of people in the population living with multiple sclerosis (MS) over the past two decades, a recent study found. Data show the disease has also become more common in women in northern…
April 12, 2023 News by Steve Bryson, PhD Training of pelvic floor muscles in MS found to help urinary symptoms Training of the pelvic muscles, provided alongside lifestyle advice via telerehabilitation ā tailored exercise instruction delivered via an online video call ā significantly reduced urinary symptoms in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), a controlled study showed. The use of pelvic floor muscle training or PFMT, which are exercises…
March 28, 2023 News by Andrea Lobo, PhD Sleep disorders in MS women may be factor in cognitive decline: Study Note: This story was updated March 29, 2023, to correct that cognitive function was assessed via questions about memory and three other cognition outcomes. Sleep disorders such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and sleepiness may contribute to self-reported cognitive decline in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study suggests.
March 8, 2023 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Study may help explain protective effects of pregnancy in MS A new study of women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who had previously given birth may have identified one of the mechanisms behind the lasting protective effects of pregnancy seen in MS patients. Patients who’d had children were found to have a number of differences in methylation, a type of…
December 1, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD Antidepressant Bupropion Found to Ease Sexual Dysfunction in MS Daily treatment with an oral antidepressant called bupropion ā marketed as Wellbutrin and Zyban, among others ā significantly improved some aspects of sexual function in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the results of a randomized trial in Iran. “The results of our study showed bupropion can…
October 26, 2022 News by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD #ECTRIMS2022 ā Fertility Treatment Won’t Raise Relapse Risk for Women Fertility treatments do not significantly increase the risk of relapse in women with multiple sclerosis (MS), even among those who undergo treatment protocols associated with greater levels of hormone exposure, according to a recent U.S.-based analysis. Older age, a longer MS duration, and the use of MS disease-modifying…
March 20, 2015 News by Kara Elam New MS Educational Program Seeks to Improve Care in Women This week the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) in collaboration with The France Foundation, a provider of continuing medical education have launched a new educational program focused on the important issues that affect women with multiple sclerosis (MS), entitled, āStrategies to Improve the…