Episode 436: 3 Questions Your Neurologist Should Be Asking Themselves with Dr. Leorah Freeman
Release Date: 01/05/2026
Episode 438: The Discovery of 2 MS Subtypes with Dr. Arman Eshaghi
RealTalk MS
One of the more confusing aspects of MS is that it can present differently from one person to the next. A research team at University College London may have uncovered a reason for that when they identified two new, and quite different, subtypes of MS. Joining me to walk us through this discovery and to explain how it may impact MS clinical care is the study's principal investigator, Dr. Arman Eshaghi. We're also sharing study results that may explain how the Epstein-Barr Virus triggers MS in some individuals. We'll tell you about the free online fitness and wellness...
info_outline
Episode 437: Remembering David Mitchell
RealTalk MS
I don't have to remind anyone who listens to this podcast that the cost of MS disease-modifying therapies is obscenely high. And we're not just talking about relatively new medications. Older medications -- some decades old -- continue to increase in price without any rational explanation for why or how. On January 2nd, we lost a true warrior in the ongoing battle to lower the price of prescription drugs when David Mitchell, the founder of Patients for Affordable Drugs, passed away. I met David in 2018 at a National MS Society Public Policy Conference, and he was a guest...
info_outline
Episode 436: 3 Questions Your Neurologist Should Be Asking Themselves with Dr. Leorah Freeman
RealTalk MS
Scientists are expanding our understanding of MS at an unprecedented pace. This week, Dr. Leorah Freeman discusses why, as new discoveries and medications enter clinical practice, neurologists and MS specialists should ask themselves 3 important questions when considering a patient's treatment plan. Dr. Freeman is the Director of the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also leads the MS and Neuroimmunology fellowship program and the MS Imaging and Outcomes Research Laboratory. We'll also tell you about...
info_outline
Episode 435: Revisiting ECTRIMS 2025 with Dr. Bruce Bebo and Kristine Werner Ozug
RealTalk MS
We're closing out the year by revisiting the most listened-to episode of RealTalk MS in 2025. And it shouldn't come as a major surprise that this year's most listened-to episode was our review of the largest MS research conference in the world, ECTRIMS. This episode features the annual conversation that I have with Dr. Bruce Bebo, right outside of the conference center, just minutes after ECTRIMS adjourns. Dr. Bebo is the Executive Vice President of Research at the National MS Society, and each year, he very generously closes out 3 days of nonstop meetings,...
info_outline
Episode 434: Revisiting Managing Menopause While You're Managing MS with Dr. Riley Bove
RealTalk MS
The holiday season gives me the opportunity to indulge in what's become a RealTalk MS tradition. I reserve the last two episodes in December to revisit the most popular conversations that I've had over the past year. Women represent two-thirds of the MS population. Yet, surprisingly, there isn't nearly enough data related to women's health issues and MS. With an estimated 300,000 women living with MS in the United States who are currently in peri- or post-menopause, researchers have started to focus on how menopause and MS interact, and the best ways to treat symptoms...
info_outline
Episode 433: Our Most Important Conversations of 2025 with Dr. John Corboy, Dr. Mikael Simons, Dr. John DeLuca, and Dr. Stehen Krieger
RealTalk MS
As the year draws to a close, we wanted to share some of the most compelling conversations we've had over the past 12 months. And rather than make my own picks, we went through the hundreds of emails we've received over the past year from the RealTalk MS listener community to see which topics really connected with you. In this week's episode, you'll hear from four of the top MS experts in the world discussing the subjects you've told me are most important to you. First, we'll explore aging and MS with Dr. John Corboy, the principal investigator of the largest study designed to answer...
info_outline
Special Episode: Guiding the Future of MS Care: MS21 Consensus Recommendations for Improving MS Care to Relieve the Burden of Disease
RealTalk MS
This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by EMD Serono and is only intended for a U.S. audience. EMD Serono is the healthcare business of Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the United States and Canada. Please note this episode is only intended for a U.S. audience. In this special episode of RealTalk MS, Professor Elisabeth Celius and Amanda Montague join me to explore new consensus recommendations for the future of MS care from MS in the 21st Century. We'll hear what experts and people in the MS community think are the priorities to focus on to improve care and help lessen the...
info_outline
Episode 432: Working With a Health & Wellness Coach with Amy Behimer
RealTalk MS
Michael Jordan never won an NBA championship until he was paired with the right coach. Then, he won six. Could working with a coach change your MS journey? In this week's episode, health & wellness coach Amy Behimer explains what health coaching is all about and how working with a coach might impact someone living with MS. We're also sharing study results that show DMTs fail to manage MS-related pain. Then, we'll explain how a common misconception can lead to the wrong outcome for someone with MS. And we'll share study results showing that adhering to the Mediterranean or MIND diet...
info_outline
Special Episode: I'm the First Participant in a CAR-T Cell Therapy Clinical Trial with Jan Janisch-Hanzlik
RealTalk MS
Welcome to a RealTalk MS special series on MS clinical trials. This special series is made possible through a generous grant from Sanofi. In this final episode of this series, you'll meet Jan Janisch-Hanzlik. Jan lives with MS and is a participant in one of the clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy for MS. In CAR-T cell therapy, blood is taken from the patient or a healthy donor, much as you would donate blood. This blood is sent to a lab, where the white blood cells, or T-cells, are separated out and reprogrammed to carry a receptor designed to...
info_outline
Episode 431: When a Teenager Becomes a Caregiver For a Parent With MS with Michaela Janssen Pohl
RealTalk MS
At the age of 14, Michaela Janssen Pohl became a caregiver for her mother, who lives with MS. I think most of us can agree that just being a teenager carries with it more than enough challenges. Those adolescent years are the years when just about everything in life starts changing. Imagine adding the responsibilities of being a caregiver to all the other things going on in a 14-year-old girl's life. Michaela joins me this week to explain how she found ways to survive and thrive in what can only be described as a challenging situation for any teenager. We'll also explain why you might want to...
info_outlineScientists are expanding our understanding of MS at an unprecedented pace. This week, Dr. Leorah Freeman discusses why, as new discoveries and medications enter clinical practice, neurologists and MS specialists should ask themselves 3 important questions when considering a patient's treatment plan.
Dr. Freeman is the Director of the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also leads the MS and Neuroimmunology fellowship program and the MS Imaging and Outcomes Research Laboratory.
We'll also tell you about study results that reveal two distinct biologically-informed MS subtypes.
We're explaining some of the confusing background to the FDA's decision not to approve a disease-modifying therapy that achieved positive results in its Phase 3 clinical trial.
And did we really need a study to tell us that people living with MS fear experiencing a relapse or disease progression? Well, yes. We'll explain why.
We're also reminding you to mail your insurance premium payments and other important documents earlier than you have in the past.
And we're sharing details about the two clinical trials that received $4.1 million in funding as part of the International Progressive MS Alliance Experimental Medicine Trial Awards.
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!
This Week: 3 questions your neurologist should be asking themselves :22
Public Service Announcement: How the new rule about postmarks could affect your healthcare 1:16
FDA says it's not ready to approve Tolebrutinib 3:16
Study identifies two biologically-informed MS subtypes 6:29
Study results remind us that people with MS fear relapse and progression 10:09
The International Progressive MS Alliance invests $4.1 million in two clinical trials 14:04
Dr. Leorah Freeman discusses why neurologists need to ask themselves 3 important questions when considering a patient's treatment plan 17:18
Share this episode 33:16
SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS
Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/436
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION
I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts!
Email: jon@realtalkms.com
Phone: (310) 526-2283
And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group!
LINKS
If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com
The Multiple Sclerosis Insider
https://themultiplesclerosisinsider.substack.com
STUDY: Combined Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Serum Analysis Reveals Distinct Multiple Sclerosis Types
https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/148/12/4578/8321558
STUDY: Fear of Disease Progression and Relapse in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Scoping Review
https://frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1680781/full
JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group
https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms
REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review
http://www.realtalkms.com/review
Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com.
RealTalk MS Episode 436
Guests: Dr. Leorah Freeman