Episode 454: Managing MS-Related Depression with Dr. Anthony Feinstein
Release Date: 05/11/2026
Episode 467: Making Shared Decision-Making Work with Dr. Aliza Ben-Zacharia and Linda Lachman
RealTalk MS
If you Google the term "shared decision making", you'll find it defined as a collaborative process where patients and clinicians work together to select tests, treatments, and care plans based on clinical evidence and the patient's personal values and goals. But shared decision-making isn't an automatic happy pill. It takes work, it takes discipline, and it takes a clear understanding of both the patient's and the clinician's roles. This week, Dr. Aliza Ben-Zacharia and Linda Lachman join me to share how shared decision-making has worked for them over the course of their longtime...
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Episode 466: Everything You Ought to Know About Diet and MS with Dr. Tyler Titcomb
RealTalk MS
We get more listener emails about diet and MS than almost any other topic. If you're curious about how some of the well-known diets for MS actually stack up, or you're interested in understanding the connection between diet and MS-related fatigue, or you want to know what the biggest obstacle to staying on a new diet is (and this may surprise you), then this is the episode for you. We're devoting this week's entire episode to my conversation with Dr. Tyler Titcomb, an assistant professor in the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, and a registered dietitian with a PhD in Nutritional...
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Episode 465: On Being an MS Specialist In A Country That Believed MS Was Non-Existent with Dr. Avinash Chandra
RealTalk MS
During his fellowship in the United States, Dr. Avinash Chandra trained to become an MS specialist at a world-class MS center. Then he returned home to Nepal and discovered that MS was largely considered non-existent. But Dr. Chandra knew it wasn't. In this week's episode, Dr. Chandra discusses his experience creating a framework for MS care in Nepal that hadn't existed before. He also explains the necessary trade-offs in providing costly medical treatment in a country where the average family of four lives on an income of $500 a month. It's been well-established that males...
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Episode 464: Sharing Her MS Journey Graphically with Liat Shalom
RealTalk MS
If you’ve spent any time at all living with or caring for someone with multiple sclerosis, you know that medical textbooks and information-filled websites can give us facts, figures, and symptoms, but they rarely capture the sometimes messy, sometimes overwhelming, and sometimes darkly funny reality of what it actually feels like to get a diagnosis of MS and realize your life has suddenly shifted under your feet. Our guest, Liat Shalom, was diagnosed with MS in 2021, at the age of 30. Instead of letting that diagnosis define her, Liat picked up her pen and created Unravelled—a...
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Episode 463: A Novel Approach to Treating MS-Related Depression with Dr. Robert Motl and Kelly
RealTalk MS
Living with depression has been described as "like living under a wet, heavy blanket". It can stop someone from showing up at work, meeting up with friends, and even connecting with their family. One out of every two people living with MS will experience depression at some point in their MS journey. The METS for MS study is focused on a novel approach to treating major depressive disorder among people with MS -- one that doesn't require another infusion, injection, or pill. This week, Dr. Robert Motl, principal investigator for the METS for MS study, joins us to explain what the study...
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Episode 462: Taking Your MS to College? Understand Your Right to Accommodation with Britt Neff
RealTalk MS
The Americans with Disabilities Act ensures that people living with disabilities receive reasonable accommodations at work. That law also applies to students attending most colleges and universities. And the ADA doesn't limit itself to physical disabilities. It's often applied to invisible disabilities, as well. This week, Britt Neff, the Access Specialist at the University of Washington School of Law, joins me to explain all the ways the accommodation process can work for college students living with MS. We'll also tell you about PTD802, an oral remyelination therapy that's just...
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Episode 461: A New Disease-Modifying Therapy Has Been Submitted for FDA Approval with Dr. Jiwon Oh
RealTalk MS
A short while ago, we shared very positive results from the Phase 3 clinical trials for fenebrutinib in both relapsing-remitting and primary progressive MS. Those results have been submitted to the FDA for approval. This week, Dr. Jiwon Oh, the principal investigator in one of the Phase 3 trials for fenebrutinib, walks us through these positive results and explains what makes fenebrutinib a different kind of disease-modifying therapy and who might benefit most from it. We're also talking about the European approval of Cenrifki (Tolebrutinib) to treat nonrelapsing secondary...
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Episode 460: Running Ireland with MS with Matt Knaggs and Colin Goodman
RealTalk MS
Next week, Matt Knaggs and Colin Goodman will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for running the 350-mile length of Ireland with MS. This week, you'll meet Matt and Colin and learn why this undertaking is so important to each of them. We're also sharing survey results that point to gaps in how we approach MS care from the day of diagnosis. We'll tell you what it really means when you read that the prevalence of MS is increasing. It isn't bad news at all! We'll provide you with all the details you need to register for ECTRIMS Patient Community Day. And, if you can spare 20 minutes,...
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Episode 459: This Is Not Your Father's MS Rehabilitation with Dr. Brian Sandroff, Dr. Brad Willingham, and Dr. Laura Rice
RealTalk MS
For years, the standard medical advice for someone diagnosed with multiple sclerosis was simple, cautious, and as we now know, incredibly limiting: “Take it easy. Don't overexert yourself. And get plenty of rest.” Today, like almost every other aspect of MS care, neurological rehabilitation is being entirely rewritten. It’s no longer about just managing decline; it’s about leveraging emerging technologies to proactively build resilience, retrain the brain, and adopt cutting-edge exercise science to fundamentally change the trajectory of life with MS. This week, three experts...
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Episode 458 -- From the 2026 CMSC Annual Meeting: Part Two with Dr. Stephen Krieger
RealTalk MS
This week, our coverage of the Consortium of MS Centers annual meeting continues with my guest, Dr. Stephen Krieger. In a wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Krieger offers a very encouraging clinical trial update, shares his thoughts on what treating someone living with advanced MS ought to look like, and points out potential obstacles to implementing the updated criteria for diagnosing MS. Dr. Krieger is a Professor of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, and a Multiple Sclerosis Specialist at the Corinne Coldsmith Dickinson Center for MS. We're also...
info_outlineOne out of every two people with MS will experience clinical depression at some point in their MS journey, making depression one of the most significant yet under-discussed aspects of living with MS. While the physical symptoms of MS often take center stage, the neuropsychiatric challenges can be just as impactful on an individual's overall quality of life and long-term outcomes.
Joining us to shed some light on this important topic is Dr. Anthony Feinstein, a world-renowned neuropsychiatrist and professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Feinstein has spent decades researching the biological and psychological drivers of depression in MS.
We're also sharing study results revealing that wait times to see a neurologist in the U.S. are way too long.
We'll tell you about a pilot trial that's recruiting participants for an implantable device designed to promote remyelination.
We're just two days away from the National MS Society's webcast on protecting federal funding for MS research, the NIH, CDC, and FDA. We're sharing all the details and info to register.
And we'll tell you all about the MS Society's statement for the record at a congressional hearing, exposing how Pharmacy Benefit Managers often prioritize profits over patient welfare.
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!
This Week: Managing MS-Related Depression :22
Study results reveal wait times for an appointment with a neurologist in the U.S. 1:45
A pilot clinical trial for an implantable device designed to promote remyelination 4:38
A webcast to update you on the National MS Society's advocacy efforts to protect federal funding for MS research, the NIH, CDC, and FDA 7:05
The National MS Society has submitted a critical statement for the record at a congressional hearing, exposing how Pharmacy Benefit Managers often prioritize profits over patient welfare 8:39
Dr. Anthony Feinstein discusses the latest research and strategies for managing MS-related depression 11:00
Share this episode 29:37
Next week 28:56
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LINKS
If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at www.RealTalkMS.com
STUDY: Access to High-Efficacy Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis Under Medicaid: Variation in Coverage and Utilization Across States
https://aan.com/msa/Public/Events/AbstractDetails/61520
STUDY RESULTS: Neurology Wait Times After Primary Care or Emergency Department Visits Among the Commercially Insured Population in the United States: 2019-2023
https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000218008
CLINICAL TRIAL: The SetPoint System as a Pro-Remyelination Therapy for Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study
https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06796504
WEBCAST: Make It Count Now: Mobilizing for Federal Funding in a Changing Policy Landscape
https://nmss.quorum.us/event/33151
READ: The National MS Society Statement for The Record: "Profits Over Patients: The PBM Business Model Under Scrutiny"
https://cdn.sanity.io/files/y936aps5/production/0372d3964cc269a404c17dff8ca919b34d0c6603.pdf
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RealTalk MS Episode 454
Guest: Dr. Anthony Feinstein