Research Insights Episodes

If you're a regular listener, you've probably heard me say that the pace of scientific discovery is moving faster than ever before. Or you may have heard the National MS Society remind us that we've seen as many advances in MS research in the past 5 years as we have in the previous 70 years. Have you ever wondered why? A major driver of this acceleration of discovery is the technology that allows scientists to analyze massive amounts of information looking for relationships or identifying chara...

March 28th is Progressive MS Day, a day that offers an opportunity for people affected by MS, patient advocates, healthcare providers, governments, and industry to share stories online and show their support for people living with progressive forms of MS. My wife, Jeanne, lived with progressive MS for 23 years, so this day holds a special significance for me. Joining me to talk about what Progressive MS Day is all about is my friend, Kevin Reid. Kevin was diagnosed with MS in 2002 and, for the ...

We often discuss the results of MS research studies on this podcast. In order to get to those results, people living with MS have to step up and volunteer to participate. This week, you'll meet Chiquita Shepard-Knight and Earl Sneed, two participants in the TEAAMS study. Chiquita and Earl will discuss how they discovered the TEAAMS study, what motivated them to get involved, what their experience as study participants was like, and what the results of the study were for them. We'll also take y...

Vision impairment is a key symptom of multiple sclerosis. In fact, many people experience optic neuritis as the very first sign of MS. People living with MS may also experience other vision-related issues including internuclear ophthalmoplegia, diplopia, nystagmus, oscillopsia, and reading fatigue. Dr. Shiv Saidha joins me as we take a deep dive into strategies for navigating MS-related vision issues while managing and optimizing your vision. Dr. Saidha is a professor of neurology in the Divisi...

You've probably heard me say more than once that the things people affected by MS want most -- access to quality healthcare, affordable prescription medications, and funding for MS research -- are, to a large extent, all functions of public policy. The people who decide whether we get these things are our elected officials. That's why advocacy is so critically important. The National MS Society's Public Policy Conference gets underway on March 4th, and joining me with a preview of this year's c...

You've just had your appointment with your neurologist or MS Specialist and you're on your way home, feeling like you weren't heard. Maybe there wasn't sufficient time. Or it might feel like your opinion simply isn't valued. Your frustration could even be the result of language issues and cultural barriers that make communication difficult. Whatever the reason, it doesn't have to be this way. Dr. Luis Manrique-Trujillo joins me this week to share tips and strategies that will improve the qualit...

If you remember your Economics 101 class, the introduction of generic and biosimilar drugs should cause prices to drop. Yet, when it comes to MS disease-modifying therapies that isn't always the case. MS Navigator Robin LaRue joins me this week to discuss how to manage the sometimes crazy costs of MS prescription medications. We're also sharing results from a study that show there is absolutely no association between consuming dairy and gluten products and MS disease activity. We'll tell you ...

This is the week that a lot of us make resolutions for the coming year. And I'm hoping that after you hear my conversation with Dr. Claire Riley, many of you will resolve to become donors to the National Multiple Sclerosis Brain Bank. Resolving to donate brain and tissue to the National MS Brain Bank is a new year's resolution that goes far beyond the standard eat better and exercise more promises that so many of us make to ourselves every year. It's deeply meaningful, profoundly personal, and,...

This week, I'm revisiting the proposal from the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in MS that recommended adopting a new framework that leverages what scientists are continuing to learn about MS and redefines how we talk about MS, how we research MS, how we diagnose MS, and how we treat MS. This proposed framework holds the promise of taking MS care to the next level. This new framework was first proposed in a paper published in November 2022, and last January, I spoke with the...

The holiday season provides me with an opportunity to indulge in what's become a RealTalk MS tradition. I reserve the last two episodes of the year to revisit the most compelling,and important conversations that I've had over the past year. This week, I'm revisiting the conversations I had at the Pathways To Cures Global Summit that took place in New York last May. The National MS Society brought together the best and brightest minds in MS research, the CEOs of major MS Societies, representativ...