News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis
Reading some social media posts not long ago a line from a late 1960s Arlo Guthrie song came to mind: “I don’t want a pickle. Just want to ride on my motor-sickle.” I didn’t think it was possible for someone with MS to ride a “motor-sickle.” It appears I was wrong. A reasonable number of MS folks are doing just that. Shannon Sorensen is one of them. She posted on…Continue Reading
Have you ever had a friend, a spouse or even a doctor tell you that you’re imagining your MS pain, your fatigue or even your sexual problems? “You’re not trying,” they might say. Or, “You just need to exercise.” It happens all the time for many of us, and it’s not unique to people with MS. There’s a doctor in Boston who understands and who, literally, has felt your pain.…Continue Reading
Hurricane season began on June 1 for the area watched over by the National Hurricane Center. For people living along the coast, as I do, it’s time to plan for moving quickly. For people with mobility problems planning is essential since, as you know, moving quickly isn’t something that we do. I wrote about this last November, but it’s time to review some updated tips and suggestions. They’re good for…Continue Reading
National Nurses Week was earlier this month. So, I’m a little late in saying it but thank you, nurses. And thank you to my doctors and their staffs, too. I’m lucky to have had wonderful medical care. I’ve had a couple of top-notch neurologists and some great support staffs. My luck began in August 1980 with Dr. Stanley Cohan. Dr. Cohan, was a neurologist at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington,…Continue Reading
A little over a year ago, in my column on the MS New Today website, I asked if it was safe for someone with MS to handle a gun. I wondered whether there would be safety issues due to problems with grip strength, balance, eyesight, and all the other various difficulties people with MS have to one extent or another. A Facebook post from a woman with MS who’d been…Continue Reading
For years researchers have believed a link exists between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and multiple sclerosis. But scientists have had a hard time finding a precise association. Now, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are reporting another possible connection. Researchers at the Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center have found a viral protein in EBV-infected cells. They think that the protein may turn on a “switch” that…Continue Reading
As you can see, if you’re reading this, The MS Wire has a new look. The idea is to make the site easier to read and navigate. I hope you like this new format. Of course, comments or suggestions for improvements are always welcome. Ed
I’m finished with my second round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab). Hopefully, this will be the final round of this disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for me, and my final MS treatment of any kind. Though some have required more, most people treated with Lemtrada receive only two rounds. The first round consists of five infusions over five days. The second round, a year later, is three infusions over three days. If it works…Continue Reading
After I wrote about pediatric MS earlier last week, 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 drilled deeper into how MS is handled in people younger than 18 years old and found some very interesting information. Pediatric MS diagnosis To begin with, neurologists have a difficult time diagnosing MS…Continue Reading
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 estimated 400,000people with MS in the United States, 8,000-10,000 are under 18 years old. We older folks have some pretty good support systems to which we can turn to learn about our disease and…Continue Reading