The MS Wire — Ed Tobias

In the four decades I’ve lived with MS, I’d never before experienced a serious case of vertigo. I’ve occasionally felt a little spacey. In fact, mild dizziness while traveling home from a business convention is one of the things that led to my MS diagnosis in 1980. But vertigo is…

Scientists Discover Enzyme Needed for Activating Myelin Repair Here’s encouraging news for those interested in remyelination — and who isn’t interested in repairing our frayed MS nerves? Yes, it’s only a mouse study, but maybe it’s the starting point for finding a way to use a particular enzyme to…

Is 2,500 my magical COVID-19 number? At my annual MS checkup a week ago, my neurologist included a blood test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Antibodies are proteins in the blood that protect the body from being attacked by viruses, bacteria, and the like. In this case, the blood test was searching…

Stem Cell Transplant Trial Enrolls First Patient in Minnesota It looks as if we’re moving closer to the day when stem cell transplants become an approved MS treatment in the U.S., at least I hope so. A trial is enrolling subjects to test the stem cells against several…

Happy anniversary to us! My wife, Laura, and I are celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary this month. It’s hard to believe, especially because the divorce rate for someone with multiple sclerosis is higher than it is for a healthy couple. A review of records in the Danish MS-Registry a…

Nasal Foralumab Led to Promising Immune Effects in Phase 1 Trial It sure would be nice to have a nasal spray to treat MS, but this research is still in its early stages. This study looked only at the safety and preliminary effectiveness of nasal foralumab on healthy volunteers.

Paging Dr. Google. OK, maybe I’m being overly dramatic, but The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Google and HCA Healthcare have struck a deal to share data and create healthcare algorithms. HCA plans to use the data system to improve operating efficiency, monitor patients, and even guide some decisions…

“Why aren’t researchers doing more to find a cure for multiple sclerosis?” “Why isn’t more effort and money devoted to this?” I regularly read comments like these after I write a column about a new disease-modifying therapy (DMT) that’s either being tested or has just been approved. Some, like Multiple…

NICE Again Says No to Adding Zeposia to Health System for England and Wales Reading this news, I’m again reminded of the major difference between the healthcare system in the U.S. and those in most of the rest of the world. While the systems outside the U.S. provide most…

My tough day started when Brenda asked, “Why do you use that scooter?” Brenda was sitting behind a desk at the Charlotte County Tax Collector’s Office in Florida, where my wife, Laura, and I hoped that transferring our driver’s licenses from Maryland to Florida would be an easy chore.

Fatigue Prevalence Remains High in MS Patients Is this a surprise to anyone who has lived with MS for any period of time? Over the many years since my diagnosis, fatigue has been my second most bothersome symptom. (Trouble walking is the first.) In this survey, researchers write that…

Are you being treated with a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) and wondering how it might affect the efficacy of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine? If so, a recent study may provide some clarity. The study, published in Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, looked at 125 MS patients either being treated with…

Phase 4 Trial Will Test if Ocrevus Can Prevent MS Onset in RIS Patients Yes, you’re reading this right. This trial aims to see if Ocrevus can stop MS before it’s officially diagnosed — when it may be smoldering and presenting a minimum of MS-like activity. In July, this…

Sometimes it seems as if people with MS are asked to flip a coin to make what’s arguably the most important decision about their treatment: which disease-modifying therapy (DMT) to use. More than 20 DMTs are approved in the U.S., similar to what’s available in the rest of the…

FDA Rejects Under-the-skin Tysabri for Relapsing MS I expect this decision will be a disappointment for those who had hoped to be able to self-administer highly effective Tysabri as a shot rather than an IV infusion. But I switched from Avonex to Tysabri, because after a few years of…

What could the Academy Awards and COVID-19 possibly have in common for people with disabilities? Stay tuned, and I’ll tell you. First, the Academy Awards. The documentary “Crip Camp,” about a summer camp for young adults with disabilities, was up for an Oscar. Its co-director and co-star, Jim LeBrecht,…

#AANAM – COVID-19 Often Leads to Flares in MS Patients, Survey Finds I’ve read more than a few social media posts from people with MS who are concerned that the COVID-19 vaccines will cause a flare. National MS Association guidelines say the vaccines may cause a temporary, mild fever…

As comic Rodney Dangerfield might have said, older people with MS “just don’t get no respect.” By older, I mean those of us who are 55 and up. By respect, I mean from researchers and some neurologists. So, as I approach my 73rd birthday, I have to tip my cap…

Helper T-cells Drive Transition from RRMS to SPMS, Study Suggests The T-cells referred to in this study, known as CD4+ cells, are believed to play a significant part in central nervous system inflammation. The disease-modifying treatment Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) is designed to destroy these misbehaving T-cells, along with B-cells, so…

Many people with MS avoid Florida. I crave it. My wife and I finally returned here in early March, escaping dreary, rainy, and windy Maryland after we received our COVID-19 vaccines. Since we arrived, the weather has been wonderful, with few clouds and temperatures warm enough for swimming outdoors. Swimming,…