Past Episodes

My guest this week is Dr. Mary Bailey, a neurologist specializing in MS care at the Mandell Center for Multiple Sclerosis in Hartford, Connecticut, and we're talking about some of the changes that occur as relapsing-remitting MS transitions to secondary progressive MS. Since about 80% of the people living with relapsing-remitting MS will experience that transition to secondary progressive MS, I think it's an important conversation to have. Since yesterday was Veterans Day in the United States,...

This episode is sponsored by Celgene and the MS MindShift Initiative, which aims to educate about the important role the brain plays in MS. My guest is Yvonne DeSousa, who is a paid spokesperson for the MS MindShift. Yvonne was diagnosed with MS in 2009. She quickly discovered that humor was able to help settle her fears and act as a release. Years later, Yvonne has continued using humor to not only improve her mood, but she's also worked to spread laughter and joy to the rest of the MS communi...

My guest this week is Dr. Silvana Costa, a research scientist in the Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Center at the Kessler Foundation. Dr. Costa's work is focused on cognitive impairment in MS, specifically, information processing speed, which is something that people living with MS often have to deal with. We'll talk with Dr. Costa about some of her specific research, along with a promising intervention designed to improve cognitive processing speed for people living with MS. We're also talki...

My guest this week is TV personality, Montel Williams. Since receiving his MS diagnosis in 1999, Montel has been a highly visible advocate for people living with MS. We're talking to Montel about his initial reaction to his own MS diagnosis, and what advice he would give to someone who was diagnosed with MS today (HINT: it's great advice!). We'll also talk to Montel about My MS Second Act, a new initiative that he's helping to launch and that you can get involved in. We're also talking about th...

This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by Celgene and the MS MindShift initiative, which aims to educate about the important role the brain plays in MS. My guest is Ashley Ringstaff, who is a paid spokesperson for the MS MindShift. Ashley was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS at the age of 22. Many of us know that MS can be very unpredictable – never knowing what symptoms you'll have to deal with day-to-day. This can lead to frustration for many people living with the disease. Ash...

I'm back from attending the MS International Federation's People With MS Forum in Athens, Greece, and it was a remarkable few days spent with some truly remarkable people. In this episode of RealTalk MS, you'll meet two of those remarkable people. First, we'll talk with Dr. Laura Musambayi, the founder of the MS Association of Kenya. Dr. Musambayi will share her experiences in a country of 50 million people, with just 20 neurologists, and no access to disease-modifying therapy. Then, you'll mee...

For almost 20 years, the CLIMB Study has been following thousands of MS patients, discovering so many aspects of multiple sclerosis and documenting how the disease changes over time. My guest is Dr. Tanuja Chitnis, Director of the CLIMB Study, Director of the Partners Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Center at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, as well as the Director of the Translational Neuroimmunology Research Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. We're also talking about an emerging topic tha...

When you're living with MS, it can feel as though you're taking a few extra things with you when you go to work. For instance, if you haven't told your employer that you've been diagnosed with MS, you're taking along the extra burden of having to keep a secret. You might be trying your best to manage your MS symptoms on the job, dealing with things like fatigue, vision problems, and even physical balance. During the workday, all of these things -- these "extra burdens" -- get piled right on top ...

I imagine everyone involved in MS research has their own reasons that make it important to them. My guest this week is Dr. Anisha Doshi, and Dr. Doshi's reasons are personal and powerful. Dr. Doshi will also update us on her current research project, and we'll talk with Dr. Doshi about the path that women face as they pursue a career in Neurology. You'll also hear Atara Biotherapeutics Chief Medical Officer Dr. AJ Joshi discuss Atara's clinical trial aimed at mitigating MS by using lab-engineer...

Sometimes, you can just look at someone and know how they're feeling. Our ability to "read people" is called social cognition. And we're learning that people living with MS can lose their social cognition skills, making every face-to-face interaction more difficult. My guest is Dr. Helen Genova, the Assistant Director of the Kessler Foundation's Center for Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research, the Director of the Social Cognition and Neuroscience Laboratory at the Kessler Foundation, and an...