November 19, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Can Focusing on the Epstein-Barr Virus Help Researchers Fight MS? There are continuing signals that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a fuel that can spark a multiple sclerosis (MS) fire. EBV is a herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis, more commonly known as mono. Sometimes called the “kissing disease”…
November 15, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: NVG-291, Ocrevus, Tolebrutinib, Tecfidera Nerve Repair Therapy NVG-291 Safe, Well-tolerated in Healthy People This experimental therapy has a long way to go before it becomes reality. But it’s encouraging that this first step found NVG-291’s side effects to…
November 12, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias I’m Sleeping Better These Days, but Why? I had a great night’s sleep the other night. I fell asleep quickly and slept straight through the night for nearly seven hours. When I got up in the morning, I felt refreshed, which is exceedingly rare these days.
November 8, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Acthar Gel, Alcohol and MS Risk, Mindfulness Analysis Finds Acthar Gel Cost-effective for MS Relapses I’ve seen social media posts from people with MS who use Acthar Gel and report that it helps with their spasticity. The gel, which is a…
November 5, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias I’m Grateful for My COVID-19 Booster Shot I’m hurtin’ a little today. I have mild muscle aches, a bit more fatigue than usual, and dragging legs. It could just be a bad MS day, or it could be the result of my COVID-19 booster shot a…
November 1, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Mono and MS, Cold and Inflammation, Mesenchymal Stem Cells, MS Smartwatch Mono as Child or Teenager Tied to Risk of MS as Adult in Large Study There’s been a lot of buzz about this study, but I don’t think anyone should be surprised about its…
October 29, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Researchers Lower the Temperature to Try to Reduce MS Inflammation I hate the cold. It triggers my bladder and stiffens my legs. When the leaves start to turn in Maryland, I start thinking about the warm weather in Florida. So, I was interested to…
October 25, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: AHSCT, Ocrevus, CD20 T-cells, Spasticity App National MS Society Supports Stem Cell Transplant for Select, Aggressive RRMS Bravo! This statement is welcome after the recommendation of National Multiple Sclerosis Society advisers that autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, or AHSCT, could…
October 22, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias It’s Flu Vaccine Time Again, So Here’s What You Need to Know A couple weeks ago, my wife and I rolled up our sleeves and got our shots again. No, not the COVID-19 vaccine. We’ve already had two of those, and expect to receive a third before Thanksgiving. The latest shot…
October 18, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: AHSCT for SPMS, Rituximab, Sativex, Smoking This week’s column focuses on stories from Multiple Sclerosis News Today reporters who have been following the annual Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis, or ECTRIMS. #ECTRIMS2021 –…
October 15, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias 3 Things I Discovered at My 50th College Reunion My wife and I recently returned from a long weekend in upstate New York, where we attended my college reunion. It was a biggie — my 50th — and had been delayed a year due to…
October 11, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Deep Brain Stimulation, Evobrutinib, Hydroxychloroquine, Ocrevus and PML Deep Brain Stimulation May Help With MS-associated Tremors Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used to treat people with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, and in some cases, those with MS who have severe…
October 8, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Amazon Care to Expand Company’s Reach Into Healthcare Services Would you sign up for healthcare from the place where you buy books, bluejeans, and bagels? Amazon thinks you might, and the company is moving closer to becoming the doctor in your house, according to a report last month…
October 4, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Ublituximab, ATA188, COVID-19, Cognitive Rehab Ublituximab, Potential Relapsing MS Therapy, Up for FDA Approval Like Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Kesimpta (ofatumumab), ublituximab targets the CD20 protein that’s found on the surface of B-cells in the immune system. It then binds…
October 1, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Humana’s Lawsuit Against Biogen Decries Ongoing ‘Seed and Sweep’ Schemes People living with multiple sclerosis know that the medications used to treat it are expensive. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the median annual price of brand-name disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) last year was $91,835. Five of them carried…
September 27, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: Bladder Treatment, Anti-CD20 DMTs, Cancer and MS, Seasons and MS Oral Fesoterodine Fumarate Can Ease Bladder Problems in MS This is a biggie for me since bladder problems have affected my quality of life for years. I recently switched my bladder medication hoping it…
September 24, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Are Generic and Brand-name Pills Created Equal? I take a bunch of pills every day. Most of them are generics. I’ve used baclofen to treat my leg spasticity, oxybutynin for my bladder, and modafinil to fight fatigue. There’s also atorvastatin to keep my cholesterol…
September 20, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: COVID-19 Vaccines, Bladder and Bowel Problems, Rim Lesions Patients on Anti-CD20 Therapies Urged to Get COVID-19 Vaccine Some people being treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that reduce their CD20 B-cells have been concerned that their DMTs also reduce the efficacy of COVID-19…
September 17, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias Assessing My Pain, From Zero to 10 Lately, I’ve been thinking about pain — specifically, how to count my pain. When I was lying on a treatment table while my physical therapist Richard manipulated my shoulder, he asked me to rate my pain, on…
September 13, 2021 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye Last Week: COVID-19 Vaccine and Relapse, Protective Parasite, Vibration Training, Infections Risk of MS Relapse Not Increased by COVID-19 Vaccine, Study Finds This new information about one of the COVID-19 vaccines supports what doctors have been saying all along. So, why do some people continue…
March 28, 2024 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Multiple sclerosis awareness is for people with MS, too