Research Insights Episodes

Research is the engine that drives us toward better understanding MS, better treating MS, and one day, curing MS. My guest on the podcast is Dr. Larry Sherman, who plays a vital role on the front lines of MS research. We're talking with Dr. Sherman about some of his most significant research and his unique research lab. We're also talking about two important victories for MS Activists. We'll tell you about the EMA approval of Gilenya for treating pediatric MS, the FDA approval of a generic for ...

Patient-centered research is based on an understanding that patients themselves have unique perspectives that can help to mold, change, and improve the work of finding answers to clinical questions. My guest on the podcast is Laura Kolaczkowski, the co-Principal Investigator for iConquerMS. We're talking about the impact this people-powered research network is having on MS research, and how the first ever patient-driven MS drug development project came about. We'll also help you wade through th...

I spent this past weekend attending the iConquer MS Leadership Summit in Boston. iConquer MS is a people-powered research network created by the Accelerated Cure Project for MS. Instead of just asking people with MS to provide data, iConquer MS is driven by people living with MS, and it represents a new paradigm of building collaborative partnerships to solve big healthcare questions. This past spring, I had an in-depth conversation with Dr. Robert McBurney, CEO of the Accelerated Cure Project ...

My guest on the podcast is Mitch Sturgeon. Mitch is an award-winning blogger, and with the publication of his book, Enjoying the Ride: Two Generations of Tragedy and Triumph, Mitch is a published author, as well. In 2001, Mitch was diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS. He was 35 years old at the time, and that was the same age that Mitch's mother was when she took a fall that left her a quadriplegic. Mitch's book is more than just a reflection of his MS journey. It's a story about a family wit...

MS Research Australia has published a report titled, Health Economic Impact of Multiple Sclerosis in Australia 2017. The report provides a detailed snapshot of the economics behind MS, looking at employment, quality of life issues, and even calculating the cost per person living with MS in Australia. The report concludes with some powerful recommendations for future steps. My guest is Dr. Lisa Melton, Head of Research at MS Research Australia, and we're talking about what this report is telling...

Elizabeth Jameson is an artist who specializes in creating a bridge between art and neuroscience. Since being diagnosed with MS, Elizabeth has transformed her brain MRI scans into remarkable and provocative images that challenge how we view the brain, disability, and illness. In addition to creating her amazing artwork, Elizabeth is an ePatient Scholar and advisor to Stanford Medicine X, and she's written extensively about patient-centered healthcare, design, and the arts. This week, we're sta...

We take advantage of digital tools every day to make our lives easier. But when it comes to managing our health, there's still a long way to go. That's why the MS Society in the UK commissioned a report titled "Improving Care for People with MS: The Potential of Data & Technology". That report has just been published, and we're discussing some of the observations and recommendations contained in this remarkable report with my special guest, Michelle Mitchell, CEO of the MS Society in the UK. We...

My guest this week is Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Jack H. Skirball professor of Multiple Sclerosis Research. Dr. Voskuhl is responsible for first identifying that understanding the gender differences in the disease is an important part of understanding MS. This is one of my favorite interviews, and it's packed with great information. We're also talking about the potential of data and technology to improve ...

Using cannabis to treat MS symptoms has become a hot topic. And thanks to social media, a lot of opinions about cannabis and MS are posted as if they're facts...and that's not always the case. So, we're talking about cannabis and MS in this episode of RealTalk MS. We'll try to demystify it a bit and we'll give you an idea of what some of the research is telling us. We'll talk about which MS symptoms cannabis might be good for...and which ones it might not be good for. We're also talking about t...

When you google the phrase "stem cell therapy for MS", it can feel like you fell into a black hole of conflicting information, misinformation, and dodgy information that can be full of promises designed to speak directly to someone who is anxiously and sometimes desperately looking for a miracle cure for a debilitating condition. And there's also plenty of good, credible information available online. But how do you go about separating the wheat from the chaff? We're going to try to jump start th...