RealTalk MS

Being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis means learning to live with a whole new set of challenges. Rising to meet those challenges and learning how to thrive in spite of those challenges is called resilience. But resilience isn't something that you're necessarily born with. Just like a muscle, resilience is something that you can choose to develop. My guest, Dr. Brandon Beaber, specializes in trea...

Welcome to a special episode of RealTalk MS coming to you from Day Three of ECTRIMS 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. This final day at ECTRIMS has become my favorite day of the conference because it's the day that I get to sit down with Dr. Bruce Bebo, the Executive Vice President of Research at the National MS Society, and get his perspective on the highlights of the entire conference. We're talking ab...

Welcome to a special episode of RealTalk MS coming to you from Day Two of ECTRIMS 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. ECTRIMS is an acronym that stands for the European Conference for Treatment & Research in Multiple Sclerosis, and this annual scientific congress is the largest MS research conference in the world. There are over 9,000 attendees here from more than 100 different countries to share new infor...

Welcome to a special episode of RealTalk MS coming to you from ECTRIMS 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. ECTRIMS is an acronym that stands for the European Conference for Treatment & Research in Multiple Sclerosis, and this annual scientific congress is the largest MS research conference in the world. There are over 9,000 attendees here from more than 100 different countries to share new information, hea...

This week, we're talking about palliative care for MS. It's a topic that a lot of people living with MS still don't know enough about, but palliative care can offer real benefits in attaining the best overall quality of life. Joining me in discussing palliative care is my guest, Cherie Binns. Cherie was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 1994. She's been a Registered Nurse for 45 years, and...

Five years ago, James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd decided to hold a barbecue event in his restaurant's parking lot, to raise money for the National MS Society. Today, the Southern Smoke Festival has grown into the largest 3rd party MS Society fundraising event in the United States, and with the 5th Annual Southern Smoke Festival just a few weeks away, we're talking with Chris about how...

Fatigue isn't only a common symptom of MS; it's also one of the most disruptive symptoms of MS. It's hard to be out living life when you're trying to overcome that feeling of just not having any gas left in the tank. My guest is Dr. Ekaterina Dobryakova, a research scientist at the Kessler Foundation's Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research, where she conducts research in cognitive dysfunction...

My guest is Kyra Millich, who, until October of 2013, was a consumer protection litigator in San Francisco, recently married, and already thinking about planning a family. And that's when she received her MS diagnosis. I don't know if Kyra would say that her diagnosis changed her life, or clarified it, but I found Kyra's MS journey to be interesting, inspirational, and instructional. And I think y...

My guest is Professor Helen Tremlett, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Neuroepidemiology and Multiple Sclerosis at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. Professor Tremlett has been involved in more than 200 published research studies, and we're going to talk about a few of them -- including the research that she's done on the correlation between MS disability progression...

The Charcot Award recognizes lifetime achievement in outstanding research into the understanding and treatment of MS. My guest is Professor Catherine Lubetzki, this year's recipient of the Charcot Award. Professor Lubetzki is being recognized for her very significant contributions to better understanding the underlying disease processes of MS, and her groundbreaking work in furthering our understa...

Welcome to Episode 100! In this special episode, we're talking with Jodi Michele Cooley, the winner of our "Be Our Special Guest on Episode 100" contest! At the age of 7, Jodi became an MS caregiver. And at the age of 34, she received her own MS diagnosis. In one way or another, MS has almost always been a part of Jodi's life. And yet, she is the very definition of the word "resilience."     We're...

My guest is Jenny Freeman, Professor of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation at the University of Plymouth, in the United Kingdom. Professor Freeman's research has appeared in more than 150 journals and publications. And she's the co-author of Multiple Sclerosis Care -- A Practical Manual , the reference book for all aspects of MS care. We're going to be talking with Professor Freeman about the just-p...

Applying for social security disability benefits can be difficult. It's a stressful and challenging process with an outcome that seems fraught with uncertainty.   My guest, Jamie Hall, has represented social security disability claimants before administrative law judges and the Appeals Council in 24 different states. He is also a strong supporter of the National MS Society, where he's conducted nu...

My guests this week are 2 exceptional MS warriors, Mike Zimits and Cat Tsigakos. When Mike was diagnosed with MS, he decided he could best help himself by getting into shape, so he got on a bike. And then he convinced his friend's sister, Catherine, to get on a bike. Cat was serving as her brother's caregiver after he was diagnosed with progressive MS.   So these 2 people, who had each been affect...

Do you ever wonder how or why your neurologist recommends one disease-modifying therapy instead of another? For some people, their first disease-modifying therapy is a mild drug with few side effects. For others, their first disease-modifying therapy might be a more high-powered drug that carries the risk of more possible side effects. But how do neurologists really know when it's appropriate to u...

How do you adjust every aspect of your relationship when the partner you've known seems to be vanishing right before your eyes, yet they're still very much there? If you're a caregiver for someone with progressive MS, or any chronic illness, it's very likely that you're living with the trauma of ambiguous loss .      My guest is Dr. Pauline Boss, who not only coined the phrase ambiguous loss, but...

This week, we're talking about shady stem cell clinics and their shady clinical trials. We'll tell you about a study that makes a connection between stress-related disorders and autoimmune disease, and a research team that may have identified the possible genetic causes of MS.   My guest is Dr. Laura Rice, an expert in rehabilitation science and technology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Cha...

Stem Cells are in the news, and we're talking about the U.S. District Court decision that will impact hundreds of stem cell clinics in the United States and the FDA's ability to regulate them. We'll also share two breakthroughs in stem cell research that will likely impact the future of stem cell therapy.     My guest on the podcast is Dr. Karen Lee, the Vice-President of Research at the MS Societ...

MS research scientist Dr. Jeffrey Huang is this year's recipient of the Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Award from the National MS Society. On this week's podcast, we're talking with Dr. Huang about his potentially groundbreaking research, and we'll even ask him how one becomes an MS research scientist.   We're also talking about the lectures, presentations, and education sessions that took plac...

We're at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, talking about mental health care for people living with MS, coping with anxiety, and the real advantages of telerehabilitation. We even sat down to talk with with artist and MS Activist Lydia Emily.     We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

We're at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, and we're talking about community based programs to enhance comprehensive MS care, understanding the MS care partner's perspective, improving MS treatment outcomes, and more. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

We're at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, and we're talking about MS Navigators, Myelocortical MS, a new paradigm in how patients and doctors should be communicating, and more. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

The International Progressive MS Alliance is an unprecedented and unparalleled global effort to understand and treat progressive MS.   Last week, I was in Copenhagen, Denmark, for an important meeting of the Progressive MS Alliance Scientific Steering Committee. And in today's episode, I'll update you on the status of three potentially breakthrough progressive MS international research projects.  ...

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America, or MSAA, provides programs and resources designed to improve the lives of people affected by MS. Whether it's financial assistance for an MRI exam, a new computer, mobility equipment, or even a cooling vest, the MSAA can help.   My guest today is Gina Murdoch, the President and CEO of the MSAA, and we're talking about the organization's almost 50-year...

I get a lot of listener questions about exercise and MS. And a lot of those questions come from people living with progressive MS, wondering whether the conversation about physical activity and MS applies to them.   My guest this week is Dr. Lara Pilutti,  an expert in the role of exercise in the management and treatment of disability arising from multiple sclerosis. We're talking about how you wa...