The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

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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

MS and Dental Fillings – A New FDA Recommendation

amalgam dental fillings

For years, some people have warned of a possible connection between multiple sclerosis and the amalgam dental fillings many of us have (or had) in our teeth. The concern has been that these fillings contain mercury, which can be toxic, especially if those fillings are removed. In large part, these concerns have been poo-pooed. I’ve been one of the naysayers, along with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, whose dental booklet…Continue Reading

My Month of MS Moving Madness

Moving Means MS stress

We’ve been moving and I’ve been stressed. That’s redundant, I know. Moving is stress on wheels — which isn’t good for someone with MS. Studies have shown a link between stressful life events and MS exacerbations, known as flares. Researchers, if you’re reading this, you should have been watching me. I’ve been a symphony of stress! My wife, Laura, and I have been moving from a two-bedroom-plus-den condo to a…Continue Reading

Flu Shots – More Important Now Than Ever

Flu shot

Labor Day has come and gone here in the U.S. Now, flu season has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. This isn’t the novel coronavirus we’ve been fighting all year. It’s the regular seasonal flu virus that’s knocking on our door again. Each year, some people with multiple sclerosis wonder if they should get a flu shot. My wife and I have been getting one for as long as I can…Continue Reading