RealTalk MS

My guest today is Dr. Valerie Block, a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neurology at University of California San Francisco.  As a physical therapist, Dr. Block is focused on MS rehabilitation. And we're talking about a just-published study that demonstrates that the way neurologists measure disability may not be providing a complete and accurate picture...and there may be a much better way to get that done.

March 28th is Progressive MS Day. About 65% of the people diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS will eventually develop secondary progressive MS. People diagnosed with Progressive MS don't experience any remission in their disease progression. Their MS just seems to worsen more steadily over time. My guest, Kevin Reid, is living with progressive MS. We'll get Kevin's thoughts about Progressive MS Day and hear about his very successful efforts as an MS Warrior.

MS affects Latinos and African-Americans, as well as Caucasians. However, the diverse population living with multiple sclerosis is often overlooked and under-represented in MS clinical research. My guest is Dr. Mitzi Joi Williams, a neurologist and MS Specialist with a strong interest in better understanding the course of MS in ethnic minority populations, and in increasing diversity in clinical research. 

It's MS Awareness Week! And we're talking about the recent announcement of the MS Prevalence Study results. We now know that the number of people living with MS in the U.S. is close to one million. More than twice as many as had been previously estimated. My guests include the President and CEO of the National MS Society, Cyndi Zagieboylo, the MS Society's Executive Vice-President of Research, Dr. Bruce Bebo, and one of the investigators of the MS Prevalence Study, Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie.

My guest this week is Diane Whitcraft, a retired middle school teacher who had been taking the same MS prescription medication  for more than 20 years. But once Diane retired and her health insurance changed, that same medication became unaffordable.

No matter what sort of challenge a caregiver may be facing -- financial, emotional, or just trying to find the right resources at the right time, every caregiver challenge is made more difficult by that accompanying feeling of isolation that so many caregivers experience. My guest is Heidi Telschow, manager of Fairview Health Services' Caregiver Assurance program, a unique program designed to seamlessly connect caregivers to the resources they need.

My guest this week is Bari Talente, the Executive Vice-President of Advocacy for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We're talking about the National MS Society's upcoming Public Policy Conference, the legislative issues that affect people living with MS in the United States, and the importance of MS advocacy.

George Pepper was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009, at the age of 22. He initially found it difficult to connect with others his own age who were living with MS, so George set up a website where people living with MS could meet and share their experiences. That website evolved into an online community called shift.ms. Today, more than 18,000 people participate in the shift.ms community. My guests today are the founder of shift.ms, George Pepper, and Aoife Kirwan, a member of the shift.ms community.

One of the best ways to maintain physical function, manage the effect of some MS symptoms, and even offset depression is exercise. My guest is Dr. Deborah Backus, the director of Multiple Sclerosis Research at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. We're discussing the importance of early rehabilitation, the difference that exercise can make for people living with MS, and STEP FOR MS -- an important clinical trial that may turn out to be a game-changer for MS rehabilitation.

One of the fundamental questions on the minds of just about everyone living with MS is "How did I get it?"  As we await that answer, science is uncovering more and more information about MS risk factors -- the things that can make living with MS better or worse. My guest is Dr. Farren Briggs, an epidemiologist who's focused on the cause of multiple sclerosis, and the risk factors that actually impact the course of the disease for an individual.

We know about the importance of disease-modifying therapy (DMT) in managing MS and slowing its progression. But you may not know that there are two very different schools of thought when it comes to how and why your neurologist may recommend one DMT over another. My guest is Dr. Aaron Boster, the System Medical Chief for Neuroimmunology at OhioHealth, and we're talking about an important conversation that you should be having with your neurologist.

Recent research suggests that loneliness is one more invisible symptom of MS. But social outreach and interaction have never been more accessible.  My guest is Mary Pettigrew, an MS Warrior and social media phenom. In 2014, Mary launched MSPals, a Twitter group that has evolved into a community of more than 5,000 followers. We're talking with Mary about the benefits of connecting online and the importance of finding your creative outlet.

My guest is Dr. Nancy Chiaravalloti, the Director of Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Laboratory and Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation, and we're discussing Dr. Chiaravalloti's breakthrough work in improving cognitive function for people living with MS, and using MRI to actually see those improvements in the brain. 

It's our final episode of the year, and we're taking a look back at what you decided were the most important RealTalk MS podcast episodes of the past year. These are the episodes that received the highest number of listener downloads.  We're also polishing our crystal ball and taking a look ahead to 2019, and talking about some of the research that we can expect to be hearing about. We'll even share some of the specific topics that we'll be discussing on the podcast in the coming year.

It's the perfect holiday treat! We're revisiting a conversation that I had earlier this year with Dan and Jennifer Digmann.  Jennifer was diagnosed with Progressive MS in 1997, and Dan was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS in 2000. Dan & Jennifer met at a National MS Society event in 2002, and they were married in 2005. We'll get Dan and Jennifer's thoughts about what life is like when both partners in a marriage have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.