The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

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Would you order your healthcare from Amazon?

Screen shot of Amazon One Medical website.

My wife and I ordered some nasal spray from Amazon the other evening. As I expected, confirmation of the purchase quickly appeared in my inbox. What I didn’t expect was a second email, which arrived immediately after the first. “Thank you for purchasing ‘Flonase Allergy Relief’ . . . from Amazon.com. Your order entitles you to a promotional code. This code grants you $10 off Amazon One Medical Pay-per-visit virtual…Continue Reading

Can this blood test make diagnosing MS easier?

Box of Octave test used to diagnose MS

They soaked me in a hot tub to help diagnose my multiple sclerosis (MS) back in 1980. The physical exam, a lumbar puncture (LP), and an early version of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test sealed the deal. Things are much better today, but MS is still a tough illness to diagnose. And once treatment has begun, MS progression is difficult to track. All the usual methods have shortcomings. A…Continue Reading

PT or the pool for your MS exercise?

Dumbbells that could be used for MS exercises

A pair of studies released in December conclude that you are what you do when it comes to multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. I agree. The first study, published in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, concludes that aquatic therapy is better than conventional physical therapy (PT) at easing fatigue and improving balance. It’s a small study. Among 26 people with relapsing-remitting MS, 14 performed progressively harder balance and gait exercises in…Continue Reading

Is my MS walking better with a Cadense shoe?

White cadense shoe

I’m always on the lookout for a new style of shoe, one that can handle the unique demands of a person with multiple sclerosis (MS). I need a shoe that will prevent the toes of my left foot from catching on a rug or a curb due to my foot drop and that will allow me to stand comfortably for several minutes without exacerbating my usual leg fatigue. I need…Continue Reading

Has the tolebrutinib road ended?

Illustration of the word "no"

The fast track may have turned into a dead end for tolebrutinib, Sanofi’s Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor for multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied approval of the experimental treatment in its current form, saying “a favorable benefit-fisk profile could not be established for any patient population.” In a Complete Response Letter (CRL), released with redactions on January 6, 2026, the agency said…Continue Reading

New McDonald Criteria: Will it speed diagnosing MS?

Display of MRI images, part of the mcdonald criteria

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a tough illness to diagnose. Its symptoms aresimilar to several other illnesses, and the National Multiple SclerosisSociety says MS is incorrectly diagnosed 5% to 18% of the time. It can alsotake a long time to reach a firm MS diagnosis and that can mean months, oreven years, of delay in starting an MS treatment. Tools to assist a neurologist in making an MS diagnosis include magneticresonance…Continue Reading

My MS timeline: 4 1/2 decades of living with MS.

Picture of a journal book to illustrate my MS timeline.

Forty-five years ago—in late August 1980—I’d just returned home from a business trip to Detroit. It was a long, stressful, tiring week. A day or so later, I was walking backward, and I fell. I wasn’t hurt—“no harm no foul,” right?—but it was surprising. And there was, in fact, a foul. It’s called multiple sclerosis (MS). As almost everyone connected to this illness knows, MS is a progressive disease. We…Continue Reading

Is your MS ready to handle a hurricane?

What does a hurricane have to do with my multiple sclerosis (MS)? Watching the season’s first major hurricane blow its way up the east coast of the U.S. a couple of weeks ago, and now in the heart of the Atlantic hurricane season, I’m thinking back three years to Hurricane Ian. In September, 2022 Ian slammed into southwest Florida, its eye passing right over the community where my wife and…Continue Reading

Can a smartphone + artificial intelligence predict MS future?

A smartphone using AI to predict MS progression.

My smartphone can do just about anything. Could it also predict mymultiple sclerosis (MS) progression? Maybe. Scientists at Google have teamed with others at the University of California and the Duke University School of Medicine to develop a way to use artificial intelligence (AI) learning methods to analyze data collected by smartphones and wearable devices. They report they’ve been able to predict the appearance of five, high-severity MS symptoms –…Continue Reading

Using DMTs to treat older people: Yes or no?

Hourglass to illustrate time running out for older people

Using disease modifying therapies (DMTs) to treat older people who have multiple sclerosis, like me, isn’t a simple choice. Many neurologists seem to make their recommendations guided by a 2017 review by University of British Columbia researchers, reporting that disease activity declines as people with MS grow older. It suggested that those of us who are 55 or older – and are having no relapses, new brain lesions, or other…Continue Reading