The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

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Did Amazon Have the Secret to Less Costly Healthcare?

Amazon healthcare costs

The answer to whether Amazon, in partnership with a pair of financial giants, can make healthcare more accessible and less expensive for its workers is: Apparently, it can’t. About two years after rolling out a project known as Haven, the plug is being pulled. The idea had been for Amazon to pool resources with the investment and banking firms Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co. “to make primary care…Continue Reading

What’s the Impact of Ocrevus’ Shortened Infusion Time?

Ocrevus and PML

One of the key considerations when choosing a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) is how much it will disrupt your life. It’s one of several factors that need to be evaluated, of course, but it’s important. Unlike shots and pills, infusion treatments can require a significant amount of time. So, will the U.S. Federal Drug Administration’s December approval of a shortened infusion time for Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) be a big deal for people…Continue Reading

Physical Therapy is Back on My MS Agenda

Physical therapyt is back on my agenda

Are you sitting down? I am, and I’ve been doing too much of that this year. For the past six months, I haven’t been using our community exercise room. I haven’t been able to swim. I haven’t gone outside that much. I’ve become a couch potato, and you know why: It’s the virus. This is not a good thing. My back has become chronically stiff. Getting out of my car…Continue Reading

Wondering About the COVID-19 Vaccine and MS

covid-19 vaccine

Do you plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine? I do. People in the U.K. started receiving the vaccine last week and the first doses are on their way to people in the U.S. So far, the U.S.-based National Multiple Sclerosis Society has said only that people with MS should seriously consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine. It’s brought together a group of experts to make some detailed recommendations, but the group’s…Continue Reading

Time to Head South, or Not?

cover-19 travel

The temperature’s dropping. The wind is whipping. It’s time for my wife, Laura, and me to head south, leaving cold, uncomfortable Maryland for the welcoming warmth of southwest Florida. Or is it? Though I once swore I’d never become a snowbird, a few years ago, we spent a week on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where friends had just bought a condo. Before long, we’d spent four winters there and then bought…Continue Reading

The Latest Advice on COVID-19 and MS

COVID-19 and MS

The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) has issued new recommendations about how the coronavirus pandemic might, or might not, impact the lives of people with MS. The MSIF, a network of national MS societies from around the world, first issued recommendations about COVID-19 and MS last spring. But much has been learned about the virus since then, including how it affects people with MS. The new recommendations address whether MS leads to complications with…Continue Reading

Stem Cell Transplants Get a Shot in the Arm

stem cell transplants

Is the United States a step closer to approving a form of stem cell transplants as a treatment for multiple sclerosis? That’s because the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) has slightly changed its view of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, or aHSCT. aHSCT involves removing a patient’s own stem cells from the blood or bone marrow, using chemotherapy to kill off most of the immune system, and then injecting the…Continue Reading

Tattoos and MS: Can You Have too Much Ink?

tattoos and ms

Many people with MS get tattoos. Often it’s a way to deliver a statement about MS to the world, or perhaps it’s a personal message to the person sporting it. But a new report cautions that too much ink might create a health issue for some folks. According to that study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, the concern is heat, and we know how bad heat can be…Continue Reading