Past Episodes

The current clinical language used to describe multiple sclerosis hasn't kept pace with modern neuroscience—and clinging to outdated categories can stall treatment decisions, muddy research, and obscure what people living with MS actually experience. This week, we're exploring why it's time to modernize how we define and discuss the disease course, grounded in underlying biology rather than superficial clinical labels. Joining the conversation is Dr. Peter Calabresi, who...

Our coverage of MSToronto 2026 continues this week with two important conversations. First, we'll hear from Dr. Jeffrey Cohen about the latest clinical findings on CAR-T cell therapy as a potential treatment for MS. Then, Dr. Robert Fox will update us on the global research portfolio being driven by the International Progressive MS Alliance. And we have to talk about Christina Applegate. By now, the news of her misdiagnosis isn't really news. But we have some suggestions...

Last week, about 8,000 MS researchers and clinicians arrived in Toronto, Canada, for MSToronto 2026, the joint meeting of the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in MS and the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS, and the largest MS research conference in the world. As the meeting adjourned, the National MS Society's Chief Research and Medical Affairs Officer, Dr. Bruce Bebo, joined me to share some of the presentations and announcements that he fou...

Welcome to a special episode of RealTalk MS and The ECTRIMS Podcast! MS Toronto 2026 concluded with the event we were most looking forward to -- Patient Community Day -- where some of the top MS experts in the world broke down the research presented over the course of the 3-day meeting and answered questions from people living with MS in easy-to-understand English. In this special episode, Professor Peter Feys, an MS rehabilitation expert from Hasselt University in Be...

Jan Janisch-Hanzlik was the first MS patient to receive CAR T-cell therapy as part of a clinical trial. We met Jan last year, in episode 424 of RealTalk MS, when she gave us a first-hand report on how she was responding to this treatment. This week, Jan is back with an update on how she's responding to CAR T-cell therapy one year later. We're just two weeks away from the U.S. midterm elections. We're sharing some resources that will help you get ready to v...

What happens when you're diagnosed with a chronic, unpredictable condition just as your career is taking off? That's exactly what happened to my guest, Dana Foote. This week, Dana joins us to share her journey from hiding her MS diagnosis as a young auditor at one of the largest accounting organizations in the world to becoming National Managing Partner for Audit & Assurance Operations and a leader in the MS community. We'll also update you on the status of a disease-modifying therapy tha...

Whether it's walking into a room and blanking on why you're there, struggling to pull up a word that's right on the tip of your tongue, or losing track of daily tasks, cognitive fatigue and brain fog can turn simple routines into exhausting hurdles. What makes cognitive changes particularly challenging is their invisibility. They don't show up on a routine check-in like mobility issues do. Family members might misread them as distraction. Employers might see them as disengagement. And all too...

Most people don't think about home accessibility until mobility changes force the conversation. But what if you decide to take control of the unknown and design your living space for whatever the future might bring? My guest, Sarah Timmerman, explains how she took total control of her future by designing and building what she calls The House That MS Built—a home engineered from the foundation up to future-proof her independence through smart, universal design and relentless self-advoca...