Harnessing AI: Transforming MS Care
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Release Date: 04/09/2024
The Science of MS Supplements
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Many people living with multiple sclerosis are interested in whether vitamins, supplements, or nutrition can play a supportive role in long-term brain and immune health. Two areas that have received growing research attention are alpha-linolenic acid, a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid found in foods like flaxseed and walnuts, and vitamin D, a hormone-like nutrient involved in immune regulation that is often low in people with MS. With so much information online, it can be difficult to know what is truly supported by research versus what is based on personal stories or assumption. New studies...
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Reengineering Hope: CAR-T Therapy for Multiple Sclerosis
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
CAR-T therapy, short for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, is already transforming treatment for blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia and is now being tested in early trials for multiple sclerosis. In this approach, a person’s own T cells (or sometimes donor T cells) are collected and reengineered in the lab with a special “chimeric” receptor on their surface. Once infused back into the body, these “designer” T cells can specifically hunt down B cells, including those hiding in the brain and spinal cord that may drive progressive MS. This is a key difference since current...
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Repairing MS: The Quest to Rebuild Myelin
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
The quest to repair the damage caused by multiple sclerosis is gaining momentum, with scientists working to restore lost function and slow progression by rebuilding myelin—the protective coating of nerve cells. Within the brain and spinal cord, immature myelin-making cells called OPCs hold promise, but need the right signals to mature into oligodendrocytes and repair MS lesions. Researchers are also studying the role of microglia, the immune cells that clear debris but can turn destructive, with drugs like BTK inhibitors potentially tilting them toward repair. Early attempts at remyelination...
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Parenting with MS: Finding Strength, Joy, and Resilience
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Parenting can be both a beautiful adventure and a demanding test. For those living with multiple sclerosis, the joys of raising children often come with added challenges—fatigue, changes in routine, and questions about how MS may affect family life. Despite these obstacles, many parents with MS find that their journey brings deeper meaning, resilience, and joy. In this podcast episode, we’ll explore the unique challenges and strengths of parenting with MS. From managing invisible symptoms to navigating conversations with children, our guests share their expertise and experience to provide...
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Repair, Reset, Reimagine: Stem Cell Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Stem cells have the extraordinary ability to transform into different types of cells and renew themselves—offering new hope in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. One of the most advanced approaches—autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT)—involves collecting a patient’s own bone marrow stem cells, using chemotherapy to wipe out their faulty immune system, and then reinfusing the stem cells to help rebuild it. A more aggressive “myeloablative” approach can effectively halt relapses and new MRI activity but carries serious risks, including life-threatening...
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Beyond the Prescription Pad: Complementary and Alternative Medicine for MS
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Most people living with multiple sclerosis explore complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) as part of their care. Complementary therapies—such as supplements, special diets, or mind-body practices—are used alongside disease-modifying treatments (DMTs), while alternative therapies are chosen instead of them. In this episode, we dive into commonly used CAM approaches, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant supplements like turmeric and alpha-lipoic acid, as well as dietary strategies like the Mediterranean diet, intermittent fasting, and modified paleo. We also explore mind-body...
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Boosting Brain Health: Blueprint for MS
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Living with multiple sclerosis brings unique challenges to brain health, but there are powerful steps you can take to support and protect your mind. Exercise not only improves endurance and reduces fatigue, but also helps rewire brain networks to promote resilience. Restorative sleep is essential, as it helps clear inflammation in the brain—so addressing disrupted sleep is a must. Nourish yourself with fruits and vegetables while cutting out sugary drinks and highly processed meats. Strengthen your social connections and lean on your support circle. When it comes to managing stress,...
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Secondary Progressive MS: Next Chapter
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Figuring out if your multiple sclerosis is changing from the relapsing remitting to the secondary progressive stage can be murky. Signs of progression are discussed like slower walking and worsening memory. The underlying reasons for progression are revealed including nervous system injury, remyelination failure, chronic inflammation and aging. Practical ways to improve progressive symptoms are shared. Successful trials for disease-modifying therapy for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) are highlighted. Tolebrutinib, under expedited review by the FDA, has been shown to slow down...
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Mind Over MS: Strategies for Staying Positive
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
Facing the first symptoms and a new multiple sclerosis diagnosis can be terrifying, leaving you with a flood of questions about your future. How do you navigate your career, relationships, and whether to start a family? The uncertainty can be overwhelming, but you don’t have to go it alone. Support from loved ones and connections with others living with MS can help light the way. As MS progresses, the mental challenges often intensify. The battle to accept mobility aids—devices that many resist—can feel like a loss, but in reality, they can expand your world. In this episode, we dive...
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Diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis
MS Living Well: Key Info from Multiple Sclerosis Experts
In this era of highly effective treatments, early intervention for multiple sclerosis can be life changing. However, the wide range of initial symptoms often leads to many people being undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, leaving them without the proper care for years. In this podcast episode, we'll discuss the early signs of MS and the key tests, such as specific MRI and spinal fluid results, that are crucial for a timely and accurate diagnosis. Criteria to diagnose MS continues to evolve to help make a diagnosis more swiftly and correctly. Specific MRI findings in the brain and spinal cord can allow...
info_outlinePrepare to be intrigued by the groundbreaking intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and multiple sclerosis care! By combing through extensive databases, including genetic information and real patient records, AI can forecast with remarkable accuracy the likelihood of MS onset. In the near future, AI could even serve as a guiding light for clinicians and MS patients in selecting the most suitable disease-modifying therapies, armed with predictive algorithms tailored for each individual.
But the marvels of AI don’t stop there. In a recent study, AI detected an astonishing 93% of new and enlarging T2 brain lesions in MRI scans, far surpassing the 58% accuracy rate of routine radiology reads. Artificial intelligence is also making waves in drug development and early clinical trial design, accelerating the quest for innovative therapies to combat MS.
Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:
Tal Arbel PhD, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, Montreal
Michael Barnett MBBS (Hons) FRACP PhD, Professor in Neurology, University of Sydney and Director of the MS Society Clinic & MS Clinical Trials Unit at the Brain and Mind Centre