Research Insights Episodes

Last week, over 7,000 MS researchers and clinicians from more than 100 countries traveled to Amsterdam to attend the 2022 ECTRIMS (European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis) Congress, the largest MS research conference in the world. As has become an annual ECTRIMS tradition on RealTalk MS, the National MS Society's Executive Vice-President of Research, Dr. Bruce Bebo, and I took up our vantage point on the steps right outside of the convention center to discuss the res...

It's flu season and that makes it an excellent time to talk about vaccines. People living with MS often have questions about whether a particular vaccine is good for them or whether it might carry with it the risk of a relapse or other negative health consequence. Dr. Lisa Doggett joins me to brief us on all things related to vaccines and MS. Dr. Doggett is a family doctor as well as the Senior Medical Director at HGS AxisPoint Health. She was a 2021-2022 American Academy of Family Physicians V...

Living with MS comes with its own set of sometimes significant challenges. But being in the dark, unaware of the noteworthy and remarkable advances being made in MS research is one challenge that we're learning to overcome. Sharon Roman is a patient-partner and writer for the British Medical Journal Group. Sharon lives with MS and she also writes a blog called Tremlett's MS Research Explained. The blog features plain-English posts detailing the research being done by Professor Helen Tremlett an...

The conversation between a doctor and patient is evolving from a time when that conversation was often limited to the doctor prescribing a particular disease-modifying medication and the patient silently nodding their head in agreement to something much more closely resembling a real conversation. Shared decision-making offers the patient an opportunity to discuss their treatment goals, explain their risk tolerance, and talk about their comfort level with side effects. But not every neurologis...

Women are roughly 3 times more likely to develop MS compared to men. But when men develop MS, they're more likely to experience a more aggressive disease course. Men are more likely to experience motor problems, loss of coordination and balance, and cognitive difficulties. When they experience a relapse, men are more likely to see their exacerbated symptoms continue, even during times of remission. Given these evidence-based observations, it seems sadly ironic that, as they develop MS symptoms,...

In last week's episode, we looked at talking with kids about MS. This week, we'll visit the opposite end of the spectrum as Dr. John Corboy discusses some of the things you'll want to think about as you age with MS. Dr. Corboy is a professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Director of the Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of Colorado. Dr. Corboy is also the Principal Investigator in a recently completed clinical trial that focused ...

One afternoon during the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting, I set up my equipment at the National MS Society's booth in the conference exhibit hall and recorded some conversations with a few old friends and a few new friends of the podcast. In this week's episode, we'll hear a couple of those conversations. Before I left for the conference, I had a chance to catch up with Dr. Saud Sadiq. So, we'll begin this episode with an update on his mesenchymal stem cell clinical tria...

Think about how much faster, easier, cheaper, and less invasive it would be if MS could be diagnosed by a simple blood test. Scientists have identified biomarkers that can be used to diagnose MS and even predict MS before someone experiences any symptoms. Biomarkers may even be used to predict MS progression before it occurs. Joining me to discuss how biomarkers may change the way MS is diagnosed and treated is Dr. Tanuja Chitnis, a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, as well as ...

For some, the journey to their MS diagnosis is relatively quick and straightforward. For others, it can be lengthy and convoluted, sometimes taking years. Joining me to talk about some of the twists and turns that can pop up on the road to being diagnosed with MS is Dr. Michael Robers, a neurologist in the Multiple Sclerosis Program and an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Barrow Neurological Institute. We're also talking about a study that measured MS prevalence among Blac...

Mask mandates have mostly ended, and bars, restaurants, public buildings, and other businesses no longer require proof of vaccination. It looks like the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Except for the fact that we're seeing cases of the latest COVID subvariant continue to rise in cities across the country and around the world. So, how do we navigate this post-pandemic world? And if you happen to be immunocompromised, how do you stay safe? Joining me as she has throughout the pandemic, with an update ...