March 13, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Can Be a Kids’ Disease, Too (Part 2) After I wrote about pediatric MS earlier this month, a reader commented: “I think it would behoove your editorship to follow up to address to audiences…symptoms that typify the early-age demographic.” That’s a good point. So, I…
March 12, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Zinbryta, Fish Oil, MS Associate Certification, Blood-brain Barrier Biogen and AbbVie Voluntarily Withdraw Marketing Authorizations for MS Therapy Zinbryta You may have heard about this already, so forgive me if it’s not new to you, but it’s important information. A dozen cases…
March 9, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Getting Cash Back for Choosing Medical Services You know about credit cards that offer you cash back for the items you buy. How about getting cash back for selecting specific healthcare service providers for things like medical tests and lab work? Go to your…
March 6, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS Can Be a Kids’ Disease, Too The age at which a person is diagnosed with MS is usually between 20 and 50, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. But it can be diagnosed in people much younger. In fact, of the…
March 5, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Epstein-Barr Virus, Gilenya, Naltrexone, Medical Marijuana Epstein-Barr Virus Found in Brain Cells of Many MS Patients, Study Reports This study is yet another of several over the years that have suggested that there’s some sort of link between the Epstein-Barr virus…
February 27, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias What’s Hot and What’s Not Among MS Therapies? The newest kids on the MS block, disease-modifying therapies (DMT) such as Genentech’s Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) and Sanofi Genzyme’s Lemtrada (alemtuzumab), are attracting a lot of interest these days. But, some DMTs that have been around for more than…
February 26, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Mediterranean Diet, Medical Marijuana, Ocrevus, Myelin Repair Pilot Study Is Testing Whether Mediterranean Diet Can Help MS Patients There’s been a good deal of news recently about the possibility that bacteria in our stomachs have an impact on our MS. There’s also been…
February 23, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias How Bad Are Proposed Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act? My knee was jerking the other day. It wasn’t my MS, it was my knee-jerk reaction to the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a bill called the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017…
February 20, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Looking for Healthcare Answers on the Internet Can Drive You Nuts I know, I know. I write about health issues on the internet, so I shouldn’t be discouraging people from looking for answers here. But, searching the internet to match symptoms with a diagnosis can be a…
February 19, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Stem Cell Trial, Medical Marijuana, Myelin Repair, Tysabri Study Stem Cell Treatment Benefits Three-fourths of MS Patients in Phase 1 Trial This is encouraging news for MS patients hoping to see some action in the stem cell area. A Phase 1 mesenchymal stem cell trial is…
February 16, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Peeking Behind the Curtain at Medical Insurance Decisions Several years ago, I tried to get my insurance company to approve a functional electronic stimulator (FES). It’s a durable medical device that significantly improved my left foot drop. My request was well-supported by documentation from…
February 13, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Where Are the Handicapped Parking Spots? It’s nice when a negative experience can be turned into one that’s positive. I think that’s the result for a wheelchair-using MS patient following a problem she had at the Mall of America a few days before the…
February 12, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: 3rd Round of Lemtrada, Ampyra’s Possibilities, Long-term MD1003, Possible PML Treatment #ACTRIMS2018 – Third Course of Lemtrada Improves Relapse, Disability in MS Patients, CARE-MS II Trial Shows The normal treatment regimen with Lemtrada is a series of two treatment courses, with the second infusion course given 12 months after…
February 9, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Good News for Tysabri Users Who Are JCV Positive One of the many disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that I’ve been on over the many years of my treatment for MS is Tysabri (natalizumab). It worked well, holding the progression of my MS at bay for the several years…
February 6, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Is It Time to Change Your MS Doctor? The other day, as I cruised around various MS internet groups, I came across a lament that I’ve seen before. But this one, for some reason, jumped out at me. A woman with MS wrote that she was…
February 5, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Testosterone and MS, Ocrevus in the UK, Enhanced MRI Technology, Ublituximab Trial Results Researchers Identify Testosterone-triggered Molecule That Protects Men From MS This finding is an extension of research that has already indicated that a higher testosterone level reduces the chance of a person developing multiple…
February 2, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Affording Your MS … or Not, You’re Likely Paying Either Way Have you been in this Catch-22? You had great medical insurance when you were working. But, you’re not working anymore. Your insurance now comes with a $6,000 deductible and it doesn’t cover any medications. That $6,000 is about…
January 30, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias The Big Pharma-Government Revolving Door Is Spinning You may have heard that there’s a new secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the United States. HHS is the department that guides the nation’s healthcare programs and policy, and the person in charge has a…
January 29, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye Last Week: Medical Marijuana Gum, Brain Stimulation and Fatigue, Gilenya Study, Invisible Diseases Holland Approves Clinical Trial Plans for AXIM’s Cannabis-based Gum for MS Pain and Spasticity Because the state where I live has only recently approved the use of medical marijuana, I haven’t had the opportunity to try…
January 26, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Cooking Dinner when MS Fatigue Has You Down The TV was on as background noise the other day, but the words of the commercial cut right through my noise filter. With a little drum beat in the background, a woman’s voice was saying, “The doctor called…
November 30, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Is multiple sclerosis everywhere, or am I just more aware of it now?
