MS and the Flu Shot: What If You Don’t Want One?
I’ve written several times about MS and the flu. I’ve always encouraged people to get an annual flu shot, but I know some people, for whatever reasons, don’t get one. I 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.
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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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Thinking About Selma Blair and Her MS
By now you may have heard that actress Selma Blair has revealed that she has multiple sclerosis (MS). That took a lot of guts. Those of us who share her diagnosis might…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Cannabis Pill, Stem Cells in Outer Space, Gut Bacteria and T-cells, Herpes and MS
Stanford Researchers Open Medical Cannabis Company with Oral Therapy for MS Pain, Spasticity as Initial Goal Let’s be clear up front. There’s no indication that you’ll be able to buy a…
FTC Challenges Amniotic Stem Cell Treatment Clinics’ Claims
“Deceptive” and “false” are two words used by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to describe marketing claims by two stem cell treatment clinics in California. According to an FTC complaint, the clinics had…
New Rules May Bring Updated Rights to Flyers with Disabilities
Flying isn’t what it used to be, as everyone who’s taken a flight in the past 15 years or so knows. Flyers with disabilities can have a particularly challenging time dealing with airports,…
I’m Too Tired to Write Tonight
Please forgive me, but I’m too tired to write tonight. My wife had surgery last week, so I’ve been doing a couple of things that I haven’t done much in the 42 years…
MS Patients Capture the Ear of a Pharma Company
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) rarely get the opportunity to talk to the people who design their medications. But a new collaboration is providing that opportunity to a few of us. The…
Buddy, Can You Give Me a Lift to the Doctor?
Is getting from home to a healthcare appointment a pain in the butt for you? Do you have to search for someone to take you? Do you haul yourself into your car and…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: aHSCT and Fatigue, What’s Hot at ECTRIMS?, Genes that May Impact MS
Lower Fatigue Reported by MS Patients After aHSCT in Canadian Study Fatigue affects 90 percent of people with MS. It certainly impacts my life. This study, though very small, reports a…
Could Government Probe Threaten Pharma Patient Assistance Programs?
Many of us have received help to pay for our MS medications. Now there’s a chance that assistance could be threatened. A recent article in the The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S.
MS Patient Argues Over Where She Had Parked — And Won!
We all know how difficult it can be to find an accessible parking spot — one that allows us to park and get from our car to where we’re going with a minimum…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: MRI Signal, Cost-effective DMTs, Age Benefits, Generic Ampyra
Often-overlooked MRI Signal May Aid in Early Diagnosis of MS, Other Brain Conditions, Study Suggests A part of an MRI scan that radiologists call a “background signal” is what’s being looked…
Serious DMTs Need Serious Care Coordination
Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) is a serious disease-modifying therapy. It has the potential to deliver a major blow to a patient’s MS, but it also carries the possibility of severe side effects. The protocol…
Wearables Focus on Tracking Your Health
I never thought I’d want a wearable internet device until I got an Apple Watch for my birthday. One of its neat apps tracks the laps that I swim, the steps that I…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Treating MS with a Statin, Ocrevus, Remyelination
Phase 3 Trial in the UK Soon to Test Statin, Simvastatin, in Slowing SPMS Progression I’ve taken a statin medication for years to keep my cholesterol in check. Now, a study is getting…
Pharma Exec Calls a 400 Percent Price Hike ‘Moral.’ Is it?
Is quadrupling the price of a medication “moral”? One pharmaceutical CEO not only thinks so, but he also says it’s a “moral requirement.” The medication is liquid nitrofurantoin, an antibiotic mixture that’s primarily…
A Generic for Ampyra Could Be Released Soon
Editor’s note: Shortly after this column was published, Mylan pharmaceuticals announced it will begin distributing Dalfampridine Extended-Release Tablets, 10 mg, the authorized generic version of Acorda’s Ampyra. There’s been no word, yet, on…
Things to Know About Flu Shots if You Have MS
The start of flu season here in the United States is just a few weeks away. It’s time for my wife and me to get our flu shots, just as we have for…
MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: B- and T-cells, Tysabri, Sexual Silence
How B-cells Work to Promote T-cell Attacks on Myelin That Lead to MS Detailed in Study I keep a close eye on reports about B-cells and T-cells because they’re the targets…
Ocrevus Predicted to Be a Billion-dollar Blockbuster
Ocrevus, a disease-modifying MS treatment that’s only been on the market a little less than 18 months, appears poised to be a cash cow for its maker, Genentech. The research firm…
