June 16, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias My Opportunity to Speak with ‘Big Pharma’ I was in Boston last week at the headquarters of Sanofi Genzyme. Yes, the big drug company. They brought together several people they consider to be “digital influencers” to pick their brains about what’s on the minds…
June 12, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: New Ocrevus Study, Minority Patients, Zocor, MS and the ‘Social Brain’ In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. Ocrevus Phase 3 Trial Will Explore How Treatment Works by Viewing…
June 9, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Self-Injecting Betaseron? There’s Now an App for That Have you ever hit a brick wall trying to self-inject? I have. It was with Avonex, the first DMD that I used. To make a long story short, after a couple of years of poking myself…
June 6, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Jumping to Conclusions About a MS Treatment Those of us with multiple sclerosis are always on the alert for new treatments. So, when a common, inexpensive and easy-to-administer drug recently appeared on the radar as a possible MS treatment, it wasn’t surprising that dozens…
June 5, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: An Acne Drug, a High-Cost Gel, Good News About Lemtrada, and Getting Off MS Drugs In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. Acne Therapy Reduces Rate of Multiple Sclerosis Progression, Canadian Study Reports At first…
June 2, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias An ‘MS House’ That Lets You Walk in My Shoes (Photo by Andreea Antonovici) A few months ago, I wrote about a bicycle that mimics the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Now, I’ve discovered that there’s an “MS House” that allows a healthy person to experience some…
May 30, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: A New Study about Lemtrada, An Easy Way to Improve Balance, A New PML Case Reported and Kudos to Us Relapse after First Lemtrada Course No Indication of Poor Long-Term Outcome, Study Finds Some MS patients being treated with Lemtrada report new exacerbation after they complete round one of the drug, and they wonder if…
May 26, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Speak Up to Keep the Cost of MS from Costing You More I’ve just been reminded, as someone with multiple sclerosis, how fortunate I am to have good medical insurance. Unlike most other countries, where medical care is a right, in the U.S. that care is a privilege. Here…
May 23, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Would You Share Your Info with an MS App? A smartphone app has been designed to collect lots of information related to your multiple sclerosis – things such as physical and cognitive test results, MRI images, and even genetic data. The hope is that via the app…
May 22, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News that Caught My Eye: Risk Factors, Biotin and Symptoms, Pills, Shots or IVs, and More In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. Ocrevus Market Entry Already Changing Dynamics in MS Treatment Choices,…
May 19, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias An MS Garden Grows in Derby Those of us with multiple sclerosis know how difficult it is to describe our journey. Words frequently are inadequate for that task. But, at Derby College in England, horticulture students and their instructors have found a way. They’ve…
May 16, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias 3 Travel Tips for Easier Flying with MS It’s the time of year for travel here in the U.S. Graduations, weddings and vacations are on all of our calendars. Air travel, in particular, can be a real pain for someone with a handicap such as…
May 15, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: Ocrevus Q&A, Cheap SPMS Therapy in Testing, and New Research In case you missed them, here are some news stories that appeared in MS News Today that caught my eye over the past week. MSAA’s Dr. Jack Burks Responds to Readers’ Questions About Ocrevus and Its…
May 12, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Cholesterol Medication Shows Promise as MS Treatment I’ve been taking a statin drug for years to keep my cholesterol low, and it’s doing a really good job. Now, there’s hope that this class of drug also might be useful for MS patients. A major trial…
May 9, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias About America’s Healthcare Puzzle There’s been lots of chatter on social media since the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure last week that’s intended to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare) and replace it with a new healthcare law. Lots…
May 8, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS News That Caught My Eye: Cannabis Gum, Ocrevus, Misdiagnosis and Other Stories The MS Wire is adding a third weekly item, beginning today. It’s a list of several news items that appeared in MS News Today over the preceding week and that caught my eye. Axim Signs…
May 5, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias NYC Subways: A Tough Ride With MS Have you ever been on a New York City subway? I grew up in the Big Apple, and I used to love riding the subway as a kid. I’d travel all over the city without a problem.
May 2, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias My Lemtrada Journey: Do You Think You’re Walking Better? “Do you think you’re walking better?” The question came from my wife, Laura. It’s now about 4 1/2 months since my first round of Lemtrada infusions and I’ve had ups and downs physically. The day she…
April 28, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias Small Study Shows Unexpected Reversal of Some MS Symptoms I don’t usually write about drug studies, especially ones that are tiny and preliminary. But an unexpected result has peaked my interest in this one. Researchers at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia report…
April 25, 2017 Columns by Ed Tobias MS, Wheelchairs, Walkers and Guns: Are They Safe Together? When I began writing about multiple sclerosis, I never imagined that, one day, I’d be writing a column about guns. But here I am, staring right into that barrel. The other day as I cruised around MS…
November 30, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister Is multiple sclerosis everywhere, or am I just more aware of it now?