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.
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 frustration, about treatments…
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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…
I’m used to seeing insurance companies here in the United States make decisions about MS therapies, including refusing to pay for certain treatments unless other, less expensive ones are tried first. These, of course, are decisions that…
European Commission Approves Ocrevus to Treat RRMS, PPMS Throughout EU This is a biggie. It’s been nearly a year since the FDA approved the use of Ocrevus here in the U.S. Finally, it’s been given the…
I’m sitting in Florida and the start of spring training is only about six weeks from now, so please forgive a baseball analogy: The heavy-hitters of the MS-fighting treatments, the monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), are moving up in…
I’m fighting a cold. I’m coughing and I’m congested. I’m hoping it’s not the flu. This is not a year to get the flu. The type of flu circulating in most of North America right now is…
Newly Diagnosed MS Patients Stay Longer on Rituxan Than Other Therapies, Study Finds This is a study that identifies which disease-modifying drugs new MS patients stuck with and which they gave up. And, why they made…
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety alert about gadolinium, the dye that’s injected when our doctors order a brain MRI “with and without” contrast. The dye provides the contrast that “lights up” areas…
As we all know, MS is difficult to diagnose. Put another way, it’s easy to misdiagnose. There’s no single diagnostic test for MS. Neurologists use their clinical examination, the patient’s medical history, and lab tests. They also…
FDA Warns of Risks Linked to Gadolinium-based Contrast Agents Used in MRI Scans I had a brain MRI a couple of weeks ago and I asked the technician about the FDA warning about the dye that…
Happy new year to all. The start of the new year seems like a good time to assess what my journey has been like since my first round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) back in December 2016. The road…
This will be my final column for this year because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Rather than ending 2017 with another 500 or so fascinating words from me, I’d like to leave you, instead, with…
I was just monkeying around while on vacation a few weeks ago, amazed that the animals jumping between my wife and myself were actually listening to the commands of their owner. I knew that chimps and apes were…
Chronic and Neuropathic Pain in MS Patients Should Be Routinely Evaluated, Study Says The next time a doctor tells you that there’s no pain associated with MS, point them to this study. Yes, MS can cause chronic pain…
Be careful if you’re using high-dose biotin (vitamin B7). The biotin in your blood could lead to some false readings when you have that blood tested. The level of concern about this is high enough to warrant a warning…
Would you be more likely to stick to your MS drug schedule if being diligent lowered the cost of that drug? Biogen, which makes half a dozen MS drugs, including Avonex and Tysabri, seems to…
Health Canada Approves Merck’s Mavenclad to Treat RRMS The European Union OK’d Mavenclad back in August. Now, Canada has come on board with approval for this oral MS therapy, which has been reporting very good success…
You wouldn’t think that a guy who was diagnosed with MS more than 37 years ago would still be able to learn a thing or two about his disease. But that’s exactly what I did while on…
I’m worried about social media. Specifically, I’m worried about the many MS-related groups in the Facebook world. There are general MS groups and there are groups dedicated to specific MS treatments. I belong to several, and though…
I never thought I’d find a subject for this MS column in the technology magazine Wired. But, what do you know? A recent article suggested that the same technology being used to create self-driving cars…
Well, 460.75 miles (741.5 km), to be exact. When I wrote about April Hester in late September, the headline on my column was “She Has MS and She’s Planning to Hike 500 Miles.” Well, she did…
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