The MS Wire

News, info and tips for living with multiple sclerosis

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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

She’s Hiking 2,200 Miles and She Has MS

When I wrote about April Hester two years ago, she and her husband, Bernie, had just finished hiking the 500 miles of South Carolina’s Palmetto Trail. That’s no small accomplishment for anyone, but it was a particularly special achievement for April because she has MS. Now, April is about to start a hike that will be four times as long. In early May, she and Bernie intend to hike the…Continue Reading

Stem Cell Transplants Versus DMTs – A trial seeks participants

Stem cell therapy

People with multiple sclerosis have been waiting for this: A full-scale clinical trial testing the effectiveness of stem cell transplans as an MS treatment. The trial is being conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and it’s enrolling people with MS at several centers in the United States and one in the United Kingdom. The U.S. has been behind the curve when it comes to approving stem cell transplants for…Continue Reading

Seconds Away from Calling 9-1-1

Calling 9-1-1

My nose started running about a week before the sledgehammer hit. Then came a chesty cough, not yet as serious as the one that had my wife wheezing but I was worried that I’d soon catch up with her. I didn’t usually develop severe upper respiratory problems but as you probably know, for someone with multiple sclerosis, even a little cold can pack a big punch. It soon did. I’d…Continue Reading