Episode 460: Running Ireland with MS with Matt Knaggs and Colin Goodman
Release Date: 06/22/2026
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...
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Episode 457: From the 2026 CMSC Annual Meeting with Dr. Kathy Zackowski, Dr. Valerie Block, and Dr. Riley Bove
RealTalk MS
Last week, the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, best known as CMSC, hosted its annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, where we had a chance to talk with some of the world's top MS experts. We'll be sharing those conversations over the next few episodes of the podcast. Welcome to Part One of our coverage of CMSC 2026! In what has become an annual tradition at this conference, Dr. Kathy Zackowski, the National MS Society's Associate Vice-President of Research, joins me to share her impressions of the sessions and presentations that stood out to her. I also caught up...
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Episode 456:The First 100 Days Following Your MS Diagnosis with Dr. Nancy Sicotte
RealTalk MS
May 30th is World MS Day! This year, the theme for World MS Day is "My MS Diagnosis," and I've been thinking about what happens right after that diagnosis. After an individual hears, "You have MS." This week, Dr. Nancy Sicotte joins me to discuss the things you should know, the things you should be thinking about, and the things you should be doing in the first 100 days following an MS diagnosis. Dr. Sicotte is the Chair of Neurology and Director of Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, and she's the past Chair of the National MS...
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Episode 455: MS and Your Oral Health with Dr. Ann Spolarich
RealTalk MS
When we talk about managing Multiple Sclerosis, our conversations naturally focus on things like disease-modifying therapies, mobility, MRI scans, and symptom management. But in this week's episode, we're shining a light on a critical aspect of MS wellness that doesn't get nearly enough attention: your oral health. Living with MS can introduce a whole host of unexpected challenges to maintaining a healthy mouth. And beyond preventing tooth decay and gum disease, emerging research suggests that chronic oral inflammation, like periodontal disease, can trigger systemic inflammation...
info_outlineNext 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, we'll tell you how you can participate in an MS research study from the comfort of your own home.
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!
This Week: We're hitting the open road in Ireland with Matt Knaggs and Colin Goodman :22
Survey points to gaps in how we approach MS care from day one 2:48
What does the increase in MS prevalence really mean? 8:48
Register for ECTRIMS 2026 Patient Community Day 12:33
An opportunity for you to participate in MS research without leaving home 14:10
Matt Knaggs and Colin Goodman talk about their attempt to set a Guinness World Record for running the length of Ireland with MS 15:56
Share this episode 32:13
Next week 32:33
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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: Understanding the Unmet Needs of People with MS at Diagnosis and Throughout Their Care Journey: Insights from a Survey-Based Study
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40120-026-00942-y
STUDY: Drivers of Prevalence in Major Motor Neurodegenerative Diseases: Temporal Trends in Sweden and France (2003-2022)
https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000218072
REGISTER: ECTRIMS 2026 Patient Community Day
https://www.ectrimspatientcommunity.eu
PARTICPATE IN RESEARCH: Survey: Automatic and Reflective Determinants, Fatigue, and Physical Activity for People with Multiple Sclerosis
https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_douenJftXAcGxVk
JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group
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RealTalk MS Episode 460
Guest: Matt Knaggs, Colin Goodman