The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

Category: Multiple Sclerosis News Columns

MS, COVID-19 and Disease-Modifying Treatments

covid-19

Are people with MS more susceptible than the average person to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19? And if COVID-19 attacks them, what’s the likely course of their illness? What about COVID-19 and disease-modifying treatments? Doctors from around the world are collecting information right now to try to answer these questions. While it’s still early to reach any conclusions, I’ve been monitoring the internet and listening to Zoom meetings held by…Continue Reading

My Lemtrada Journey: Two Years Post Round 2

My Lemtrada journey

Happy Lemtrada anniversary to me! It’s been two years since I completed my second round of Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) infusions, and I’m happy to say that the results have been good. Not everyone’s experience with Lemtrada will mirror mine, but I don’t think I’m much different than most. My brain MRI hasn’t shown any new, enhanced, or active lesions since before my first treatment, although that had been stable for several…Continue Reading

Coronavirus Means Virtual Visits for Neuros and Patients

virtual visits

Dr. Aaron Boster assessed the gait of his multiple sclerosis patient, who walked forward and back. Earlier, he had checked the patient’s seventh cranial nerve by having him close his eyes tightly and smile. Then, Boster checked the ninth, 10th, and 12th cranial nerves by having him stick out his tongue and wiggle it back and forth. A motor exam followed, which included flopping the hands palm-up and palm-down, and…Continue Reading

Is Online Coronavirus Screening Useful?

online coronavirus screening

A number of websites are currently offering online coronavirus screening. These aren’t a full-scale test. The online sites read symptoms that you enter and then use artificial intelligence to determine how likely it is that you’re positive for the virus. But there’s a bit of a problem. An investigation by a pair of reporters from STAT reveals that different websites give different responses to the same set of symptoms. For example,…Continue Reading

COVID-19 and DMTs: What’s Happening If You Have MS?

covid-19

What’s happening if you have MS and you’ve tested positive for COVID-19? How will the disease affect your disease-modifying therapies and your MS? How will the DMTs affect COVID-19? Dr. Barry Singer, (@drbarrysinger), a neurologist who directs The MS Center for Innovations in Care in St. Louis, has posed that question to his Twitter followers. And the responses that Singer has received, from around the world, from people with MS who…Continue Reading

Will MS Patients be OK with Myeliviz?

mri and myeliviz

Myeliviz is the name of a new imaging agent approved for a clinical trial in the U.S. It has the potential to make the process of diagnosing multiple sclerosis faster and tracking the disease progression easier. Myeliviz does this by providing doctors with a better picture of damaged myelin — the cause of many of our MS symptoms. The procedure is similar to that of an MRI with contrast. Myeliviz…Continue Reading

MS Isn’t Rare, it’s Invisible

MS isn't rare

Feb. 29 was Rare Disease Day. It’s a day on which those in the rare disease community attempt to raise awareness about their diseases. I don’t think MS should be included. MS isn’t rare. About 2.5 million people worldwide have multiple sclerosis. When I was working in a newsroom of about 100 people three of us had MS. And everyone seems to know someone with our disease. It is rare,…Continue Reading

Statistics Link MS and Smoking

MS and smoking

A link between people with MS and smoking has been highlighted by statistics released by the Public Health Service in the UK. The numbers are part of a group of statistics that are intended to help health commissioners and providers assess “the needs of patients with MS and the provision of health and care services,” according to the government’s website. Primary findings Nearly 106,000 people in England have MS. That’s…Continue Reading

Are You Peeing in Morse Code?

Peeing in Morse code

Are you frequently up at night for bathroom trips? When you’re outside, are you always looking for a loo? You’re not alone. A recent study confirms that the vast majority of people with multiple sclerosis are dealing with bladder problems. You probably know the symptoms: They include having to urinate frequently, incontinence, dribbling, or not being able to empty your bladder completely. Sometimes, those lower urinary tract symptoms can be…Continue Reading

MS Meds or Food: A Tough Choice

ms meds or food

Forced by medication costs to choose between regularly taking their medications or buying groceries, some people with multiple sclerosis are choosing the groceries. Some are skipping doses and others have stopped taking their disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) entirely. This troubling news is reported in a survey by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). The results show that about 40 percent of those surveyed have skipped or stopped taking their DMTs because…Continue Reading