Pushing to Put a Symbol for Invisible Disabilities on Driver’s Licenses
This is not the week to tell me how good I look … even if I look and feel good. The week of Oct. 13 is Invisible Disabilities Week. As we all know,…
The MS Wire — Ed Tobias
People say to write what you know and Ed Tobias knows about MS. He’s lived with the illness since 1980, when he was 32 years old. Ed’s a retired, award-winning broadcast journalist and his column combines his four decades of MS experiences with news and comments about the latest in the MS community. In addition to writing his column, Ed is one of the patient moderators on the MS News Today Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram sites. He’s also the author of “The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox: Hints and Tips for Living with M.S.” Ed and his wife split their time between the Washington, D.C. suburbs and Florida’s Gulf Coast, trying to follow the sun.
Featured Post
After more than 7 years, ‘The MS Wire’ column is moving on
This is my 823rd column for Multiple Sclerosis News Today. It is also my last. Over the past seven and a half years, I’ve written about multiple sclerosis (MS) fatigue and…
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MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mavenclad and Ocrevus Use Rising in EU, Ampyra Patent Appeal Denied, Exercise and MS Pilot Study
Mavenclad, Ocrevus Use Rising in EU as Injectables and Tysabri Decline, Spherix Reports I’m not surprised at reports that the use of Mavenclad (cladribine) and Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is increasing in Europe, or that…
It’s Not All in Your Head
Several days ago, the headline “It’s All in Your Head” jumped out at me. The author of the Journal of the American Medical Association article, Matthew Burke, is a neurologist at Harvard Medical…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituximab vs. Ocrevus
In this week’s column, I’ve changed the format a little to focus on one subject: rituximab. This is an approved cancer medication that some U.S. neurologists use as an off-label treatment for multiple sclerosis…
My Fortuitous Footwear Discovery: I Found the Right MS Shoes
The other night, I had an MS dream. In it, I was able to lift my left leg as well as I can my right one, regardless of my weak hip flexor. I don’t…
Taking Vitamin D for Your MS? Use It Wisely
Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) use vitamin D supplements. I’ve been popping a 2,000 IU tablet of vitamin D3 each morning for many years. And with good reason. Studies show that having…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Ozanimod, Achtar Gel, Onset Age Progression Link, Glial Cells Could Differentiate MS Types
In this column, I take a look at more exciting research from the ECTRIMS2019 conference this month. #ECTRIMS2019 – Ozanimod’s ‘Key Advantages’ May Lead to New First-line MS Therapy: Interview with Neurologist Jeffrey…
Neuros Say that Flu Shots and Other Vaccines Are OK for Those with MS
This is the time of year when my wife and I start thinking about getting our flu shots. We’ve already had the pneumonia and the older shingles vaccine and hope to soon update with…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Stem Cell Transplants, Remyelination Agent, Tecfidera Study, Plasma Exchange and Tysabri-linked PML
It’s been a big week for interesting stories, as the annual meeting of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) has just concluded. The conference offered much to engage healthcare…
Stem Cell Program That Treated Selma Blair Closes Its Doors
Richard Burt, MD, the chief of Northwestern Medicine’s immunotherapy for autoimmune diseases division, is taking a sabbatical, and the stem cell program he has headed for many years, which treated…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Cancer Medication Slows MS, Vitamin D and Myelin, Targeting ‘Helper’ T-cells, Vaccination Guidelines
Ofatumumab Better at Easing Relapse Rates and Slowing MS Progression Than Aubagio, Phase 3 Data Show Ofatumumab isn’t approved as a multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. It’s a cancer medication that’s marketed as Arzerra.
Social Cognition: Does It Impact MS Symptoms?
Feeling tired, depressed, or anxious? Maybe it has to do with your social cognition. Social cognition involves empathy and recognizing the emotions that are revealed by someone’s facial expression. That expression may…
Another Study Shows That Costs of Disease-modifying Therapies Are Zooming
It probably comes as no surprise to you that the costs of some of the most popular MS medications have been soaring. A new study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reports that…
I Dreamed That I Was Walking
When asleep, many people dream they can fly. Some dream about being naked in public, failing an exam, or (gasp!) about sex. Last night, I dreamed that I was walking. I have that…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Rituximab Helps Reverse Boy’s MS, Top Secondary DMTs in Europe, Tricking Remyelination, Early MS Treatment Strategies
Rituximab Leads to ‘Dramatic’ Recovery in Boy with Aggressive RRMS, Case Study Reports I dislike using adjectives such as “dramatic” when describing treatment results. I think they frequently blow things out of proportion.
Are Your MS Disease-modifying Treatments Old School or New School?
Choosing which MS medication to use is one of the most difficult decisions for someone with MS and their neurologist. After 39 years with MS, and with four disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on my medical…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Dark Rimmed Lesions, Sativex in the UK, NHS Care Toolkit for Neurological Diseases, Wahls Diet
Dark Rimmed Brain Lesions May Be Signal of Aggressive Disease, NIH Study Says Researchers in this study found that specific brain lesions, notable for their dark rims, may indicate that a patient’s multiple…
MS Progression’s Speed Tagged to ‘Smoldering’ Brain Inflammation
The presence of chronic active lesions in the brain may provide a clue as to how quickly multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms will progress. Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) call these…
Keeping a Positive Attitude with Advocacy: Why I Write ‘The MS Wire’
This month marks the third anniversary of my column, “The MS Wire.” After writing two columns a week for most of those 156 weeks, it isn’t always easy to come up with fresh…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Solution for Lemtrada Complications, CBD Infusions, Vaccines and MS, Music and Exercise
Autoimmune Complications Associated with Lemtrada Solved Using Anti-CD20 Therapies, Case Studies Suggest One of the concerns about the disease-modifying therapy (DMT) Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) is that it may raise the patient’s risk of developing…
