Wellness & Multiple Sclerosis

03/23/21 • 29 min

MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts

Wellness is a proactive approach to living with multiple sclerosis. Wellness complements routine neurological care, which is often reactive to new relapses, symptoms and disease progression. Nutrition reviewed including diets such as intermittent fasting, paleo and Wahls Protocol. Great physical health relies on keeping up with routine cancer screenings and vaccinations. Options for protecting cognitive health and improving mental health are highlighted. Ways to improve social and spiritual connections are shared.

Successful exercise strategies presented for an array of MS disability levels. Information given on how to balance the need for increased muscle strength with concerns of overexertion and fatigue. The role of physical, occupational and speech therapy for people with MS reviewed. The latest and future technology explored including zero-gravity treadmills, electronic foot braces, robotic exoskeletons and implantable microstimulators.

Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:

Riley Bove MD is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of California-San Francisco. Her multiple sclerosis research focuses on hormones and digital medicine. Dr. Bove started her studies in anthropology at Harvard and then global studies on a Fulbright scholarship. She returned to Harvard for medical school and then completed her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham Women’s hospital in Boston. She completed a clinical research fellowship at the Partners MS Center and a Master’s Degree through Harvard Medical School’s Clinical Investigator Training Program.

Ben Thrower MD is the medical director of the Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute at Shepherd Center, a leading rehabilitation hospital in Atlanta. He completed his medical degree at University of Florida and neurology residency at the University of Texas in San Antonio. Dr. Thrower is a Clinical Instructor of Neurology at Emory University and participates actively in clinical research. He serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Chapter of the National MS Society and has served on the board for the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers. In 2005, he was the first physician inductee into the Georgia Chapter of the National MS Society Volunteer Hall of Fame.

Visit www.mslivingwell.org for more information.

Share your MS story on https://ICanWithMS.org

Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:

Visit www.mslivingwell.org for more information.

Share your MS story on https://ICanWithMS.org

Previous Episode

Anxiety, Depression & Multiple Sclerosis

Struggling with anxiety or depression? Over half of people living with multiple sclerosis can experience depression and up to 40% have anxiety. Both psychological and physical symptoms that people with MS experience are explained. Causes for these mood disorders are discussed including immune inflammation in the brain, adaptation to having a chronic disease and medication side effects such as interferons and steroids. People with depression are at higher rate of developing multiple sclerosis. In addition, depression is associated with more disability for those living with MS which may be due to not taking medications properly, smoking, not exercising and even chemical brain changes.

Therapy options explored including meditation (including mindfulness), stress reduction, cognitive behavioral therapy and virtual platforms. Prescription medication options for both anxiety and depression covered including benefits and risks including dependence. Experts share resources and hope for those living with MS with severe depression including suicidal thoughts.

Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:

Amy Sullivan PsyD, ABPP is a board-certified, staff clinical health psychologist and the Director of Behavioral Medicine at the Mellen Center for MS Treatment and Research at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Sullivan received her doctorate degree at Argosy University-Atlanta, her internship at the University of Cincinnati, and her fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Pain Medicine. She is also the principal investigator for several clinical trials at the Mellen Center, where her research interests are focused on MS, pain, exercise and behavioral medicine.

Adam Kaplin MD PhD is the Chief Scientific Officer of MyMD Pharmaceuticals Inc. since December 2020. He completed his undergraduate degree from Yale University, graduating magna cum laude, and obtained both his MD and PhD degrees at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Kaplin complete his residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he served as the chief resident of psychiatry. He served as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins and the principal psychiatric consultant to the John Hopkins MS Center. He remains as adjunct faculty at John Hopkins.

Visit www.mslivingwell.org for more information.

Share your MS story on https://ICanWithMS.org

Next Episode

Future Look: From Diagnosis to Tracking Multiple Sclerosis

Cutting-edge research is revolutionizing how multiple sclerosis is diagnosed and monitored. The central vein sign on MRI may soon be a key way of confirming if someone has multiple sclerosis versus other conditions such as migraine, vasculitis, neurosarcoidosis and blockage of small blood vessels (from age, smoking and hypertension). Early clues on MRI imaging are shared in people with evidence of MS prior to developing symptoms (called radiologically isolated syndrome or RIS). New imaging techniques in development visualize changes in progressive multiple sclerosis like slowly-expanding lesions and inflammatory cells called microglia. Dr. Daniel Reich from the NIH covers additional topics from routine MRI monitoring of the brain and spinal cord to remyelination imaging.

With incredible medical advances, some people that were considered to have multiple sclerosis are now diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica (NMO) and MOG Antibody Disease (MOGAD). Dr. Sean Pittock from Mayo Clinic shares how NMO and MOGAD are different from multiple sclerosis and reviews the alternate approaches to treatment including the 3 FDA-approved treatments for NMO, Soliris (eculizumab), Uplinza (inebilizumab) and Enspyrng (satralizumab). Latest research in screening spinal fluid and blood for clues of multiple sclerosis discussed to improve diagnosis and monitoring of the disease.

Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:

Daniel Reich MD PhD is the Chief of the Translational Neuroradiology Section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He obtained his undergraduate degree in math and physics at Yale, PhD in neuroscience at The Rockefeller University and MD degree at Cornell. Dr. Reich completed residencies in both neurology and diagnostic radiology and a neuroradiology fellowship at John Hopkins Hospital.

Sean Pittock MD is a Professor of Neurology at Mayo Clinic. His is the Director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Neurology and Director of Mayo's Neuroimmunology Research Laboratory. He earned his medical degree from University College Dublin, post-doctoral degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland followed by residency and fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Visit www.mslivingwell.org for more information.

Share your MS story on https://ICanWithMS.org