RealTalk MS

Jon Strum cuts through all the jargon and breaks down the latest multiple sclerosis news. You’ll meet the scientists who are creating tomorrow’s MS treatments today. You’ll hear from the experts discussing how the latest tweaks and changes to our healthcare laws will impact your MS treatment. And we’ll be talking to the courageous MS warriors who are out there advocating on behalf of the MS community every day, as well as the men and women who are committed to living their best lives with MS and living their best lives as MS caregivers. If you're dealing with multiple sclerosis in your life -- as a patient, caregiver, family member, or friend -- join us each week for RealTalk MS.

Episode 453: MS and Pregnancy with Dr. Riley Bove 05/04/2026

Episode 453: MS and Pregnancy with Dr. Riley Bove For decades, an MS diagnosis came with outdated advice and significant uncertainty regarding starting a family. Today, the conversation has shifted from "Is it possible?" to "How do we optimize the journey?" This week, we're taking a deep dive into the essential considerations for family planning, managing MS during pregnancy, and the crucial postpartum period. We're joined by Dr. Riley Bove, an Associate Professor of Neurology at UCSF and a leading expert in hormonal influences on MS. Dr. Bove brings her extensive research background and clinical expertise to help us understand how to navigate disease-modifying therapies while planning a family, the biological shifts that occur during pregnancy, and how to build a robust support system for the "fourth trimester." We're also sharing study results that provide some optimistic news for people experiencing MS-related depression. We'll tell you about a study that explains the actual changes in the immune system that occur when someone with MS exercises. If you get your health insurance on the Affordable Care Act online marketplace, we'll explain why health economists feel certain that your premiums will be going up again next year. And we're also sharing some sobering research that highlights systemic inequities that prevent people with MS who rely on Medicaid from accessing high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: MS and family planning, pregnancy, and postpartum :22 STUDY: High-efficacy disease-modifying therapies are not available to all Medicaid recipients 1:08 Millions have failed to renew their ACA individual health insurance plans 5:05 STUDY: Cognitive-behavioral therapy improves MS-related depression 9:32 STUDY: Researchers identify the biological mechanisms that are impacted when people with MS exercise 11:29 Dr. Riley Bove discusses family planning, pregnancy, and postpartum issues that affect women with MS 14:48 Share this episode 35:31 Next week 35:50 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at STUDY: Access to High-Efficacy Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis Under Medicaid: Variation in Coverage and Utilization Across States STUDY: Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis STUDY: Physical Exercise Modulates T Cell Activity and Mitigates Synaptic Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis Through Vagus Nerve Engagement UCSF Clinical Trials: Pregnancy Registry, Infants, Serum/Milk Analysis (PRISMA) AbleNOW JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 453 Guest: Dr. Riley Bove /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/41126535

Episode 452: Why Natural Myelin Repair Stops Working for People with MS (And How It Could Be Re-Started!) with Dr. Larry Sherman 04/29/2026

Episode 452: Why Natural Myelin Repair Stops Working for People with MS (And How It Could Be Re-Started!) with Dr. Larry Sherman Myelin repair is a natural function. But, for people living with MS, that ability to repair myelin eventually stops working. New research led by my guest, Dr. Larry Sherman, may explain why that happens and point to new possibilities for future myelin repair treatments. Dr. Sherman is a professor at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University, and his research focuses on how the brain and spinal cord respond to injury and disease, particularly in demyelinating conditions such as multiple sclerosis. We're also sharing some potentially good news for people living with non-relapsing secondary progressive MS in Europe, but not in the United States. We'll give you the details about an experimental drug that's just been submitted to the FDA and EMA for approval for treating relapsing forms of MS and primary progressive MS. We'll share the results of a study that focused on the impact of a cancer diagnosis on MS care. We'll tell you how Fernando Mendoza celebrated being named the #1 pick in this year's NFL draft. And we're sharing news about a new AI tool for your doctor. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Why myelin repair stops working for people living with MS :22 EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use recommends approval of Tolebrutinib 1:35 Roche submits Fenebrutinib for FDA and EMA approval 4:45 Study results show the effect of a cancer diagnosis on MS care 6:13 The first pick in the 2026 NFL draft, Fernando Mendoza, partners with the National MS Society to launch the Mendoza Family Fund 9:43 OpenAI launches ChatGPT for Clinicians 10:56 Dr. Larry Sherman discusses why myelin repair stops working for people with MS, and how his team may have found a way to restart it 14:37 Share this episode 27:59 Next week 28:19 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at LISTEN: RealTalk MS Episode 440: An MS Specialist Responds to the FDA with Dr. William Conte STUDY: Impact of Cancer on Multiple Sclerosis-Related Healthcare and Disease-Modifying Drug Use: A Multinational Cohort Study STUDY (Plain English Version): Impact of Cancer on Multiple Sclerosis-Related Healthcare and Disease-Modifying Drug Use: A Multinational Cohort Study https://tremlettsmsresearchexplained.wordpress.com/2026/04/23/impact-of-cancer-on-multiple-sclerosis-related-healthcare-and-disease-modifying-drug-use-a-multinational-cohort-study-explained DONATE: The Mendoza Family Fund (in Partnership with the National MS Society) LEARN MORE: ChatGPT For Clinicians AbleNOW JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 452 Guest: Dr. Larry Sherman /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/41021145

Episode 451: Meet the 2026 Winner of the John Dystel Prize for MS Research with Dr. Ludwig Kappos 04/20/2026

Episode 451: Meet the 2026 Winner of the John Dystel Prize for MS Research with Dr. Ludwig Kappos The annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology is underway in Chicago this week, and one of the highlights is the presentation of the John Dystel Prize for Research in Multiple Sclerosis, awarded jointly by the National MS Society and the American Academy of Neurology. This year's winner of the Dystel Prize is Dr. Ludwig Kappos, a physician-scientist at the University Hospital Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and the director of the Research Center for Clinical Neuroimmunology and Neuroscience Basel. Dr. Kappos has played a major role in how clinical trials in MS are conducted. He helped establish the Expanded Disability Status Scale, or EDSS, which is the gold standard for measuring disability in people with MS, and Dr. Kappos and his team have advanced our current understanding of a key driver of disability in MS, known as progression independent of relapse activity, or PIRA. Dr. Kappos will be delivering the Dystel Prize lecture at the American Academy of Neurology meeting this week, and he's joining us to share a preview of that lecture in a conversation you won't want to miss. We're also sharing news about a blood test used to monitor MS disease activity that has just been approved by the European Union. We'll give you the details of a study focused on whether disease-modifying therapies can impact neurodevelopmental birth defects in children born to mothers with MS. We'll explain why yaks and Tibetan antelope may have opened a door to neuroprotection and myelin repair for people living with MS. And we'll tell you where healthcare providers and patients may differ when it comes to defining high-quality MS care. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: The John Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research is awarded :22 A blood test to monitor MS disease activity is approved by the EU 2:28 Researchers determine whether disease-modifying therapies have an impact on neurodevelopmental birth defects among children born to mothers with MS 4:21 Researchers studying yaks and Tibetan antelope may have uncovered a pathway to neuroprotection and even myelin repair 7:24 Healthcare providers and people living with MS share their perspectives on what needs improvement in delivering high-quality MS care 10:01 Dr. Ludwig Kappos reflects on how MS clinical trials need to change 13:33 Share this episode 30:58 Next week 31:19 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at STUDY: Association of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Congenital Anomalies with Prenatal Multiple Sclerosis Treatment: Real World Historial Cohort Study STUDY: A Gain-of-Function Retstat Variant from High-Altitude Adaptation Promotes Myelination Via a Neuronal Dihydroretinoic Acid-RXR-Y Pathway ARTICLE: Areas for Improvement for High-Quality Multiple Sclerosis Care: Insights from Interviews with People with Multiple Sclerosis, Providers, and Clinical Educators AbleNOW JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 451 Guest: Dr. Ludwig Kappos /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40918060

Episode 450: Exercise is Medicine for People with MS with Dr. Robert Motl 04/13/2026

Episode 450: Exercise is Medicine for People with MS with Dr. Robert Motl An exercise program can be hard to start and even more difficult to stick with. But the evidence-based benefits speak for themselves. For people living with MS, it can mean improving quality of life without having to rely on a pill, injection, or infusion. And exercise is 100% affordable! Dr. Robert Motl, the Director of the Exercise Neuroscience Research Laboratory at the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago, joins me to discuss how exercise can improve MS-related brain fog, reduce fatigue, and perhaps even support myelin repair. We'll also share the results of a study that shows having mononucleosis is a significant risk factor for developing MS. And we'll tell you about a powerful imaging agent that can identify which immune cells are causing the inflammatory activity that drives MS, determine disease severity, and track the immune system's response to disease-modifying therapy. It's a potential game-changer in MS care. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Evidence-based benefits of exercise for people living with MS :22 Study results show that having mono increases the chance that someone will develop MS 1:28 Researchers have created an imaging agent with the potential to be a game-changer in diagnosing and treating MS 4:29 Dr. Robert Motl explains how and why exercise can be medicine for people with MS 10:04 Share this episode 31:50 Next week 32:10 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at STUDY: Risk of Multiple Sclerosis Among Persons with Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive Mononucleosis STUDY: A Radiolabeled Dendrimer Non-Invasively Identifies and Tracks Innate Immune Cell Activation in a Mouse Model of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis AbleNOW JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 450 Guest: Dr. Robert Motl /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40807065

Episode 449: Putting People Affected by MS at the Center of MS Research with Sara Loud, Stephanie Buxhoeveden, and Hollie Schmidt 04/06/2026

Episode 449: Putting People Affected by MS at the Center of MS Research with Sara Loud, Stephanie Buxhoeveden, and Hollie Schmidt When you join the iConquer MS community, you’re no longer just a patient; you become a research partner. Not just a data point in someone's study. You become the person to suggest the study, to help define the study, and to participate in sharing the outcome of the study. In this week's episode, I talk with the iConquer MS leadership team about what it means to be part of this people-powered research revolution and how iConquer MS keeps people affected by MS at the center of MS research. The National Institutes of Health has just published a Strategic Plan for Disability Health Research. We're sharing all the details. And a research team analyzed data from 20 global studies to determine whether anti-CD20 disease-modifying therapies (Ocrevus, Kesimpta, Briumvi) were cost-effective. We're sharing their somewhat surprising results. And a research team analyzed data from 20 global studies to determine whether anti-CD20 disease-modifying therapies (Ocrevus, Kesimpta, Briumvi) were cost-effective. We're sharing their somewhat surprising results. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: We're talking about people-powered MS research :22 The NIH has published a Strategic Plan for Disability Health Research 1:15 Researchers determine whether anti-CD20 disease-modifying therapies (Ocrevus, Kesimpta, Briumvi) are cost-effective 6:05 Sara Loud, Stephanie Buxhoeveden, and Hollie Schmidt discuss what it means to put people affected by MS at the center of MS research 12:41 Share this episode 36:26 Next week 36:45 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at iConquer MS National Institutes of Health Strategic Plan for Disability Health Research STUDY: Economic Value of Anti-CD20 Therapies in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Studies AbleNOW JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 449 Guests: Sara Loud, Stephanie Buxoeveden, and Hollie Schmidt /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40731825

Episode 448: At the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference with David, Cliff, and Michelle 03/30/2026

Episode 448: At the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference with David, Cliff, and Michelle Last week, about 170 MS activists from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C. to participate in the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference. It's hard to come away from this event and not feel outraged by the stories that are shared, but also inspired by the resilience and bravery of the MS Activists who are willing to share some of the worst moments in their MS journey to make sure that our elected representatives in the House and Senate understand why the legislation we ask them to support is so vitally important. I met so many truly amazing MS activists at this year's Public Policy Conference, and you'll meet some of them in this week's episode. We're also sharing survey results that paint a disturbing picture of the human consequences that resulted from losing Congressional funding to support enhanced premium tax credits for ACA Marketplace Enrollees The National MS Society has invested $2.3 million in 11 research projects focused on women's health issues and MS. We're sharing details of each new research initiative being funded. You'll learn about a clinical trial for a novel investigational therapy for MS and other autoimmune diseases. And we'll tell you about a study that you can participate in from home...and get compensated for your participation! We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: We're at the Public Policy Conference :22 Survey results show the human consequences of losing Congressional funding to support enhanced premium tax credits for ACA Marketplace Enrollees 4:45 The National MS Society invests $2.3 million dollars in research projects focused on women's health issues and MS 7:23 The first healthy participant is dosed in the clinical trial for ICP-538 11:24 An opportunity to participate from home in a clinical trial (and there's compensation!) 12:41 MS Activists David, Cliff, and Michelle share their thoughts on attending the MS Society's Public Policy Conference 15:27 Share this episode 30:10 Next week 30:30 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS JOIN: Become an MS Activist LISTEN: RealTalk MS Episode 446 -- MS Advocacy and the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference with Steffany Stern SURVEY RESULTS: Cost Concerns and Coverage Changes: A Follow-Up Survey of ACA Marketplace Enrollees PARTICIPATE: A Study to Determine How Well Different Fall Prevention Programs Work for People with Spinal Court Injury and Multiple Sclerosis JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 448 Guests: David Silbaugh, Cliff Currie, and Michelle Constantine Hibbs /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40652425

Episode 447: Walking with Many Sisters Toward a Cure with Brigitte Delaney 03/23/2026

Episode 447: Walking with Many Sisters Toward a Cure with Brigitte Delaney In 1988, there were just 42 Walk MS events, raising approximately $4 million. In 2025, there were 170 events across the country that raised over $30 million. As the largest private funder of MS research in the world, the National MS Society relies on funds raised at events like Walk MS to continue supporting the work that brings us closer to cures. This week, Brigitte Delaney, an amazing fundraiser and captain of the Many Sisters Walk MS team, shares her story, talks about the origin of the Many Sisters team, and offers her recipe for successful fundraising. We're also sharing study results that show adhering to the MIND diet slows brain aging (and we'll explain why that matters to someone living with MS) We'll tell you about NG01, a remyelinating cell therapy that just received an FDA designation that will accelerate its development. You'll learn about CoPilot Health, Microsoft's new AI health chatbot. And we're sharing study results that indicate people who receive their MS diagnosis over the age of 50 tend to experience a more severe MS disease course. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: It's WALK MS! :22 Study results show that adherence to the MIND diet slows brain aging 1:24 The FDA grants a designation that accelerates development of a remyelinating cell therapy 4:42 Microsoft launches CoPilot Health, an AI health chatbot 7:17 Study results indicate that people who are diagnosed over the age of 50 often experience a more severe MS disease course 9:32 Brigitte Delaney introduces us to the Many Sisters WALK MS team 12:07 Share this episode 22:28 Next week 22:48 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS JOIN: Become an MS Activist STUDY: Adherence to the MIND Diet and Longitudinal Brain Structural Changes Over a Decade: Evidence from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort STUDY: Effect of Late-Onset on Multiple Sclerosis Phenotype and Outcome: Evidence from a Multi-National Registry JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on X, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 447 Guests: Brigitte Delaney /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40571680

Episode 446: MS Advocacy and the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference with Steffany Stern 03/16/2026

Episode 446: MS Advocacy and the National MS Society's Public Policy Conference with Steffany Stern 175 MS activists are heading to Washington, D.C. next week for the National MS Society’s Public Policy Conference. Their mission: to bring the concerns of the MS community directly to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. When it comes to the legislative support for healthcare and medical research, it's no secret that these are unusual times. Joining me to brief us on the National MS Society's ongoing advocacy efforts and give us a sneak peek at the specific legislative issues we'll be taking to Capitol Hill is the National MS Society's Vice President of Advocacy, Steffany Stern. We'll also share updated results from an important study that show the risk of developing MS if a close relative is living with the disease is significantly higher than researchers originally thought. And we'll give you all the details of a Phase 1 clinical trial that's focused on a novel approach to CAR-T cell therapy for MS. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Preparing for the MS Society's Public Policy Conference :22 I'm asking for your support: 1:37 An update to a 2015 study shows close relatives of people living with MS are 100 times more likely than the general population to develop MS 2:15 A novel approach to CAR-T cell therapy for MS is recruiting for a Phase 1 clinical trial 4:26 Steffany Stern, the Vice President of Research at the National MS Society, shares a major advocacy win and previews next week's Public Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. 7:27 Share this episode 33:04 Next week 33:25 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS JOIN: Become an MS Activist STUDY: A Prospective Study of Individuals at Risk of Multiple Sclerosis Informs the Design of Primary Prevention Studies GEMS Study Recruitment RealTalk MS Ep. 439: Preventing MS with Dr. Bruce Bebo PARTICIPATE: A Study to Assess the Safety and Clinical of Azer-cel in Participants with B-cell Mediated Autoimmune Disorders JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 446 Guests: Steffany Stern /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40447295

Episode 445: It's MS Awareness Week with Kristine Werner Ozug and Kim, Kim, and Kim 03/09/2026

Episode 445: It's MS Awareness Week with Kristine Werner Ozug and Kim, Kim, and Kim It’s MS Awareness Week, and this year we’re diving into a theme that hits home for millions: Unseen MS. Multiple sclerosis is a master of disguise; it can be entirely invisible to the naked eye while remaining profoundly life-altering for the person living it. In this episode, we’re exploring the spectrum of the MS experience through two distinct, yet deeply connected stories. First, you'll hear from RealTalk MS team member Kristine Werner Ozug. Kristine shares what it’s like to navigate a world that doesn’t always see her struggle, and how her "mostly invisible" MS symptoms still dictate the rhythm of her daily life. Then, you'll meet the two Kims (and a third). Kim W and Kim P, have been together for 16 years. They both live with MS—but in very different ways. While Kim P has navigated RRMS for 18 years with largely invisible symptoms, Kim W was diagnosed with PPMS just three years ago and faces much more visible physical challenges. Joining our conversation with Kim and Kim is Kim Fredsall, a physical therapist at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, who provides expert context on bridging the gap between diagnosis and daily management. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: It's MS Awareness Week :22 Kristine Werner Ozug shares her story 1:24 Kim W. and Kim P. share their story 24:49 Share this episode 39:14 Next week 39:34 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 445 Guests: Kristine Werner Ozug, Kim P, Kim W, and Kim Fredsall /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40351445

Episode 444: Treating MS with a GLP-1 with Dr. Ellen Mowry 03/02/2026

Episode 444: Treating MS with a GLP-1 with Dr. Ellen Mowry You know them by their trade names such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound. This class of medications is known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. And while they are best known for managing diabetes and promoting weight loss, researchers are finding that these drugs are also effective in a broad range of other health conditions. So, what about MS? My guest this week is Dr. Ellen Mowry, the principal investigator of a clinical trial to determine whether a GLP-1 drug can reduce brain inflammation and provide neuroprotection in people living with progressive MS. We're sharing details about the discovery of a new biomarker that not only confirms an MS diagnosis but also predicts the severity of an individual's disease course in the years ahead. We'll tell you about three studies focused on better managing some of the most common MS symptoms and funded by the International Progressive MS Alliance. And we'll explain how Merck and the Mayo Clinic are partnering to build a first-of-its-kind drug discovery platform using AI. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: A GLP-1 for MS? :22 I'm asking for your support: 1:31 Researchers discover biomarkers that can predict future disease course 2:13 The International Progressive MS Alliance invests $8.1 million in global studies that address the most common MS symptoms 5:44 Merck and the Mayo Clinic collaborate on AI-driven drug discovery platform 10:02 Dr. Ellen Mowry discusses the clinical trial to determine whether a GLP-1 drug can reduce inflammation in the central nervous system and offer neuroprotection to people with progressive MS 12:20 Share this episode 30:17 Next week 30:38 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS STUDY: Large-Scale Proteomics Across Neurological Disorders Uncovers Biomarker Panel and Targets in Multiple Sclerosis International Progressive MS Alliance https://progressivemsalliance.org JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 444 Guests: Dr. Ellen Mowry /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40265920

Episode 443: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 3) with Dr. Helen Tremlett, Dr. Ilana Katz Sand, and Kathy Smith 02/23/2026

Episode 443: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 3) with Dr. Helen Tremlett, Dr. Ilana Katz Sand, and Kathy Smith Welcome back to the third and final part of our coverage of the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum. This week's episode bridges the gap between groundbreaking clinical research and the nuanced reality of living with MS every day. First, we'll dive into the "before" and "after" of a diagnosis, starting with Dr. Helen Tremlett’s insights into the MS prodrome—those subtle, early signs that appear years before typical MS symptoms. We'll also talk with Dr. Tremlett about how other health conditions can predict long-term outcomes in sometimes surprising ways. Dr. Ilana Katz Sand shares her latest research on the connection between diet, MRI findings, and clinical disability. Dr. Katz Sand also shares her list of foods you want to include and those you need to exclude when you choose the MIND diet. And Dr. Katz Sand explains the complementary roles of lifestyle choices and disease-modifying therapies in creating the most effective MS treatment plan. Finally, we ground these scientific advancements in the lived experience as Kathy Smith joins us to challenge the clinical labels we use to describe MS, questioning whether terms like "relapsing-remitting" or "secondary-progressive" truly capture the day-to-day reality of her two-decade journey with the disease. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 3) :22 Dr. Helen Tremlett discusses the prodromal phase of MS, which comorbidities are predictive of better or worse patient outcomes, and the role of the environment in pediatric MS 1:19 Dr. Ilana Katz Sand shares her latest research on the impact of diet on MS 10:44 As someone who has lived with MS for two decades, Kathy Smith takes on the question of whether the current labels like 'relapsing-remitting' or 'secondary-progressive' actually describe what life is like on a day-to-day basis for someone living with MS 22:35 Share this episode 34:29 Next week's episode 34:49 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS Find out about ABLEnow Accounts JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 443 Guests: Dr. Helen Tremlett, Dr. Ilana Katz Sand, and Kathy Smith /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40191460

Episode 442: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 2) with Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Dr. Daniel Ontaneda, and Kristine Werner Ozug 02/16/2026

Episode 442: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 2) with Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Dr. Daniel Ontaneda, and Kristine Werner Ozug Welcome back to Part Two of our coverage of the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum. This week, we shift our focus to emerging therapies and clinical insights that are re-shaping the future of MS care. From the latest information on stem cell transplantation to evolving treatment strategies to the labels used to describe MS, we’re breaking down the complex science into the conversations that matter most to the MS community. Joining me to discuss one of the most significant presentations from the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum is Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, who opened the event with the Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Lecture. Dr. Cohen’s lecture, "AHSCT: Current Status and Remaining Questions," tackled a topic of massive interest to both clinicians and the MS community: Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT). Often described as "resetting" the immune system, AHSCT is a complex and life-changing procedure that continues to evolve. In our conversation, Dr. Cohen delves deeper into his lecture, discussing transplant efficacy, the best candidates for AHSCT, the optimal time to consider AHSCT, and how people living with MS may qualify to participate in a clinical trial comparing the benefits of AHSCT with those of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies. Joining me for a deep dive into the future of MS care is Dr. Daniel Ontaneda. Our wide-ranging conversation explores the cutting edge of clinical practice and research, including the "early vs aggressive" treatment debate, how incorporating new imaging biomarkers will lead to faster, more reliable, and more accurate MS diagnoses, and whether the current disease classifications still serve the best interests of patient care. While MS research conferences like the ACTRIMS Forum are never short on world-class expert opinions and groundbreaking data, one perspective is often missing from the room: the voice of someone living with the disease. That’s why I was so glad to have Kristine Werner Ozug, a valued member of the RealTalk MS team, on the ground with me. As someone living with MS, Kristine brings a vital lens to these scientific sessions. After the final gavel fell, I sat down with her to get her "patient-first" perspective on the research that mattered most to her and what she’s taking away from this year’s Forum. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 2) :22 Dr. Jeffrey Cohen takes us on a deep-dive into Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT) 1:23 Dr. Daniel Ontaneda discusses the ways that today's MS research will impact tomorrow's MS care 10:44 Kristine Werner Ozug shares her "patient-first" perspective on the research that mattered most to her and what she's taking away from the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum 28:17 Share this episode 43:31 Next week's episode 43:54 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS Find out about ABLEnow Accounts JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 442 Guests: Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Dr. Daniel Ontaneda, and Kristine Werner Ozug /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40068740

Episode 441: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum with Dr. Manuel Friese, Dr. Amit Bar-Or, and Dr. Haritha Desu 02/09/2026

Episode 441: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum with Dr. Manuel Friese, Dr. Amit Bar-Or, and Dr. Haritha Desu Last week, over 1,400 scientists and clinicians gathered in San Diego, California, at the 2026 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis annual meeting, better known as the ACTRIMS Forum. This week, in Part One of our coverage, you'll hear from three of the experts who presented their research at the ACTRIMS Forum. Dr. Manuel Friese, a clinician-scientist at the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany, where he serves as the Director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology, and the Director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, is this year's winner of the Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis. I had an opportunity to talk with Dr. Friese about some of his truly remarkable research. Dr. Amit Bar-Or, the Director of the Centre for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics (CNET) and Chief of the Division of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and related disorders at the University of Pennsylvania, presented encouraging results from two important clinical trials. Dr. Bar-Or and I discussed what those results might mean for people living with relapsing-remitting and primary progressive MS. Dr. Haritha Desu, a young investigator at the ACTRIMS Forum, presented her cutting-edge research on how immune cells interact with cells already resident in the brain to drive damage or potentially promote repair. I talked with Dr. Desu about how her work could be key to stopping MS progression independent of relapse activity. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum :22 Barancik Prize winner Dr. Manuel Friese discusses his pioneering discoveries 1:34 Dr. Amit Bar-Or shares encouraging results from two important clinical trials 16:27 Dr. Haritha Desu discusses her research 25:27 Share this episode 32:23 Next week's episode 32:42 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS Find out about ABLEnow Accounts JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 441 Guests: Dr. Manuel Friese, Dr. Amit Bar-Or, and Dr. Haritha Desu /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/40048815

Episode 440: An MS Specialist's Response to the FDA with Dr. William Conte 02/02/2026

Episode 440: An MS Specialist's Response to the FDA with Dr. William Conte This past December, the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter to drug manufacturer Sanofi in response to Sanofi's application seeking approval for Tolebrutinib, the first in a new category of investigational disease-modifying therapies to undergo FDA review. A Complete Response Letter is an official letter from the FDA to a drug manufacturer stating that the agency can't approve a new medicine in its current form. It's not an outright "no" that kills a project; it's more like a "not yet." However, this Complete Response Letter raised some issues which, at first glance, don't appear to be easily fixable. Sanofi has pointed out that the issues raised in the Complete Response Letter were markedly different from the guidance they received from the FDA over the course of this approval process. Sanofi has also indicated that it would work with the FDA to find a path forward for Tolebrutinib. Dr. William Conte, an MS Specialist and a principal investigator in the Phase 3 clinical trial for Tolebrutinib, has published an article responding to the FDA's Complete Response Letter. This week, Dr. Conte joins me to discuss the FDA's action and his response to that action. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: We're at the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum :22 Check out the official ACTRIMS Forum Insider podcast! :42 The FDA's Complete Response Letter about Tolebrutinib 1:09 Dr. William Conte responds to the FDA's Complete Response Letter 4:09 Share this episode 38:10 Next week's episode 38:30 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS Find out about ABLEnow Accounts JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 440 Guests: Dr. William Conte /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39939825

Episode 439: Preventing MS with Dr. Bruce Bebo 01/26/2026

Episode 439: Preventing MS with Dr. Bruce Bebo The first coordinated global research strategy to prevent MS has been announced. This week, Dr. Bruce Bebo, the National MS Society's Executive Vice President and Chief Research & Medical Affairs Officer, joins me to explain what MS prevention looks like and how experts plan to achieve this remarkable goal. We'll also tell you who won the 2025 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research, and we'll explain how their groundbreaking research impacts MS care. We're sharing the details of a newly announced partnership designed to reduce delays in getting an MS diagnosis and expand access to MS care in Wisconsin. We'll tell you how an international drug discovery network found that a drug already approved for another condition could also protect nerve cells and promote remyelination. And we'll share research that shows that AI can accurately predict whether someone newly diagnosed with MS will experience progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) in the three years following their diagnosis. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! I'm asking for your support: :22 This Week: Preventing MS 1:47 Dr. Manuel Friese is the winner of the 2025 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research 2:41 National MS Society announces a partnership to improve time to MS diagnosis and access to MS care in Wisconsin 6:26 An international drug discovery network identifies a drug that protects nerve cells and promotes remyelination 8:05 STUDY: AI accurately predicts progression independent of relapse activity in individuals who are newly diagnosed with MS 10:51 Dr. Bruce Bebo explains the strategy behind the global research initiative to prevent MS 14:48 Share this episode 31:31 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Support Jon at WALK MS RealTalk MS Episode 424: I'm a Participant in a Clinical Trial for CAR T-Cell Therapy for MS with Jan Janisch-Hanzlik STUDY: In Silico Screening and Preclinical Validation Identify Bavisant as a Therapeutic Candidate for Multiple Sclerosis STUDY: Machine Learning Analysis Applied to Prediction of Early Progression Independent of Relapse Activity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Find out about ABLEnow Accounts JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 439 Guests: Dr. Bruce Bebo /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39863720

Episode 438: The Discovery of 2 MS Subtypes with Dr. Arman Eshaghi 01/19/2026

Episode 438: The Discovery of 2 MS Subtypes with Dr. Arman Eshaghi 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 programs for veterans living with MS offered by the Paralyzed Veterans of America. And we'll explain how the latest entrant in the AI for healthcare revolution can prepare you for your next appointment with your neurologist. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Discovering 2 new subtypes of MS :22 Study results show how the Epstein-Barr Virus may trigger MS 1:20 The PVA is offering free online fitness and wellness classes for veterans with MS 5:45 Claude for Healthcare joins the AI in healthcare revolution 7:03 Dr. Arman Eshaghi discusses his team's discovery of 2 subtypes of MS 9:59 Share this episode 28:15 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at EBV Infection and HLA-DR15 Jointly Drive Multiple Sclerosis by Myelin Peptide Presentation STUDY: Combined Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Serum Analysis Reveals Distinct Multiple Sclerosis Types PVA Offers Free Online Fitness & Wellness Classes for Vets with MS Find out about ABLEnow Accounts Claude for Healthcare JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 438 Guests: Dr. Arman Eshaghi /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39768010

Episode 437: Remembering David Mitchell 01/12/2026

Episode 437: Remembering David Mitchell 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 on Episode 31 of RealTalk MS. This week, I'm re-sharing the conversation we had in 2018. We'll also tell you about an international workshop that represents the initial steps in developing a global research agenda to end MS. We're explaining how AI is about to have a major impact on healthcare. And we'll share the American Medical Association's brief to Congress, making the case for extending access to telehealth. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: We're remembering David Mitchell :22 The first steps toward a global research agenda to prevent MS were just published 1:02 Doctor AI will see you now 5:45 The American Medical Association asks lawmakers to extend access to telehealth 10:27 David Mitchell in his own words 12:41 Share this episode 27:56 Next week 28:16 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at Patients for Affordable Drugs PAPER: Toward a Global Research Agenda for Preventing Multiple Sclerosis AMA BRIEF: The Case for Permanent Telehealth Policy and Expanded Access to Virtual Care ChatGPT Health JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 437 Guests: David Mitchell /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39690200

Episode 436: 3 Questions Your Neurologist Should Be Asking Themselves with Dr. Leorah Freeman 01/05/2026

Episode 436: 3 Questions Your Neurologist Should Be Asking Themselves with Dr. Leorah Freeman 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 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: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at The Multiple Sclerosis Insider STUDY: Combined Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Serum Analysis Reveals Distinct Multiple Sclerosis Types STUDY: Fear of Disease Progression and Relapse in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Scoping Review JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 436 Guests: Dr. Leorah Freeman /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39580095

Episode 435: Revisiting ECTRIMS 2025 with Dr. Bruce Bebo and Kristine Werner Ozug 12/29/2025

Episode 435: Revisiting ECTRIMS 2025 with Dr. Bruce Bebo and Kristine Werner Ozug 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, presentations, and research reviews by sharing his initial thoughts on the announcements and presentations that caught his eye during the conference. When I produced this episode last September, I also wanted to capture a patient's perspective on what can easily become an overwhelming 3 days of presentations, news, and announcements. Kristine Werner Ozug, a member of the RealTalk MS team who lives with MS, joined me right after the conference to share her perspective on ECTRIMS 2025. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: ECTRIMS 2025 :22 Dr. Bruce Bebo shares his first impressions of the news and research presented at ECTRIMS 2025 1:22 Kristine Werner Ozug weighs in with an MS patient's perspective on the news and research presented at ECTRIMS 2025 10:35 Share this episode 22:45 Next week on RealTalk MS 23:06 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at RealTalk MS at ECTRIMS 2025 on YouTube Join the RealTalk MS Facebook Group Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 435 Guests: Dr. Bruce Bebo and Kristine Werner Ozug /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39458465

Episode 434: Revisiting Managing Menopause While You're Managing MS with Dr. Riley Bove 12/22/2025

Episode 434: Revisiting Managing Menopause While You're Managing MS with Dr. Riley Bove 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 of each. This brings me to a conversation I had last March about managing menopause while managing MS with Dr. Riley Bove. Dr. Bove is a neurologist and the founding director of the Sex and Gender-Enriched (SAGE) Neurology Program at the University of California, San Francisco, and she's considered one of the world's foremost experts on women's health issues and MS. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Managing menopause while you're managing MS :22 Dr. Riley Bove discusses some of the issues facing the estimated 30% of the MS population who are currently in peri- or post-menopause 1:53 Share this episode 20:30 Next week on RealTalk MS 20:51 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at RealTalk MS at ECTRIMS 2025 on YouTube Join the RealTalk MS Facebook Group Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 434 Guests: Dr. Riley Bove /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39458445

Episode 433: Our Most Important Conversations of 2025 with Dr. John Corboy, Dr. Mikael Simons, Dr. John DeLuca, and Dr. Stehen Krieger 12/15/2025

Episode 433: Our Most Important Conversations of 2025 with Dr. John Corboy, Dr. Mikael Simons, Dr. John DeLuca, and Dr. Stehen Krieger 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 the question, "Once I turn 60, can I discontinue my disease-modifying therapies?" We'll talk about remyelination with the winner of the 2025 Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research, Dr. Mikael Simons. You'll hear our conversation with one of the world's top MS rehabilitation experts, Dr. John DeLuca, as we tackle one of the most disruptive MS symptoms -- fatigue. And we'll wrap up this episode by talking with clinician-scientist Dr. Stephen Krieger about the confusion around trying to reconcile the idea of progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) with a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Our most important conversations of 2025 :22 Dr. John Corboy discusses aging and MS 1:07 Dr. Mikael Simons discusses remyelination 10:54 Dr. John DeLuca discusses MS-related fatigue 19:20 Dr. Stephen Krieger discusses how the current course descriptors for MS (relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive, primary progressive) may no longer be working for doctors or patients 26:11 Share this episode 42:10 Next week's episode 42:30 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 433 Guests: Dr. John Corboy, Dr. Mikael Simons, Dr. John DeLuca, Dr. Stephen Krieger /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39358230

Special Episode: Guiding the Future of MS Care: MS21 Consensus Recommendations for Improving MS Care to Relieve the Burden of Disease 12/11/2025

Episode 432: Working With a Health & Wellness Coach with Amy Behimer 12/08/2025

Episode 432: Working With a Health & Wellness Coach with Amy Behimer 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 improves cognitive performance among people living with MS. We'll also explain why this study raises as many questions as it seeks to answer. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! Thank you! :22 This Week: What working with a health coach is all about 1:08 Study results show that disease-modifying therapies don't help manage MS-related pain (But are they supposed to???) 2:29 Study results show that adhering to the Mediterranean or MIND diet improves cognitive performance among people with MS (Or does it??) 5:13 Health & Wellness Coach Amy Behimer explains how someone living with MS could benefit from coaching 12:11 Share this episode 39:33 Next week's episode 39:53 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at DONATE: The National MS Society SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist STUDY: Phase 2 Clinical Trial for Moderna's EBV Vaccine and MS STUDY: Mediterranean and MIND Diet Patterns and Cognitive Performance in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the UK Multiple Sclerosis Register JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 432 Guests: Amy Behimer /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39307425

Special Episode: I'm the First Participant in a CAR-T Cell Therapy Clinical Trial with Jan Janisch-Hanzlik 12/04/2025

Special Episode: I'm the First Participant in a CAR-T Cell Therapy Clinical Trial with Jan Janisch-Hanzlik 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 fight a particular condition. This receptor is known as a chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR. Over several weeks in the lab, these fortified T-cells multiply until there are millions of them, then they're reintroduced to the patient by intravenous infusion. CAR-T cell therapy is already used to treat some blood cancers, and Jan is the first person in the world to receive this one-and-done treatment to treat MS. She's joining us to share her experience participating in the clinical trial and to give us an update on how she's doing following her treatment. This special episode of RealTalk MS is made possible by a generous grant from Sanofi. Sanofi has two ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials in MS studying Frexalimab, an investigational second-generation anti-CD40 ligand monoclonal antibody. If you are interested in learning more about these clinical trials, please visit SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39239160

Episode 431: When a Teenager Becomes a Caregiver For a Parent With MS with Michaela Janssen Pohl 12/01/2025

Episode 431: When a Teenager Becomes a Caregiver For a Parent With MS with Michaela Janssen Pohl 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 think a little differently about Giving Tuesday this year. We're sharing all the details about the Phase 2 clinical trial focusing on Moderna's investigational Epstein-Barr vaccine and MS (and we'll explain why that might turn out to be important!) We're talking about how MS impacts women's health issues with this year's winner of the Rachel Horne Prize for Women's Research in Multiple Sclerosis, Dr. Kristen Krysko. And we're sharing the results of the Phase 2 clinical trial for PIPE-307, an investigational remyelination therapy. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! It's Giving Tuesday (and why that matters more this year than ever before) :22 This Week: Becoming a caregiver for a parent with MS when you're 14 years old 3:27 A clinical trial focused on an EBV vaccine and MS is recruiting participants 4:25 Dr. Kristen Krysko discusses MS and women's health issues 7:52 Results from the Phase 2 clinical trial for PIPE-307 remyelination therapy 13:48 Michaela Janssen Pohl shares her story of becoming a caregiver at the age of 14 16:55 Share this episode 33:20 Next week's episode 33:40 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at DONATE: The National MS Society SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist PARTICIPATE: Phase 2 Clinical Trial for Moderna's EBV Vaccine and MS Email: JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 431 Guests: Dr. Kristen Krysko, Michaela Janssen Pohl /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39205415

Episode 430: Navigating Winter Weather When You're Living with MS with Dr. James Stark 11/24/2025

Episode 430: Navigating Winter Weather When You're Living with MS with Dr. James Stark Almost everyone with MS is aware of their sensitivity to heat. But cold weather presents a whole different set of challenges that we don't always think about. This week, I'm talking with Dr. James Stark about safely navigating cold-weather conditions when you're living with MS. Dr. Stark is the Senior Attending Neurologist and Associate Medical Director at the International Multiple Sclerosis Management Practice. And he's sharing tips for staying safe and healthy when the temperature starts to drop. The FDA has just approved a new generic DMT, and the first biosimilar for MS is hitting the market. We'll tell you about these new disease-modifying therapy options, and we'll bring you up to speed on what biosimilars are all about. I ran into Dr. Robert Fox at ECTRIMS, the world's largest MS research conference. And, in a brief conversation, Dr. Fox provided a great overview of the MS research landscape. You won't want to miss this conversation! If you missed the International Progressive MS Alliance's global webcast, Hidden Potential: How Existing Drugs Could Transform MS Treatment, you can still catch the video replay. We're sharing all the details. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: There's a lot to still be thankful for :22 Your opportunity to support the organization that supports you 2:03 What you need to know about the new generic and biosimilar disease-modifying therapies 9:24 The Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Robert Fox shares an overview of the MS research landscape 10:29 Catch the International Progressive MS Alliance Global Webcast video replay 22:41 Dr. James Stark shares tips for navigating winter weather when you're living with MS 23:27 Share this episode 35:14 Next week's episode 35:35 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at DONATE to the National MS Society SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist WATCH: International Progressive MS Alliance Global Webcast Replay LISTEN: RealTalk MS EP. 315: Understanding Generic and Biosimilar Drugs for MS with Dr. Jiwon Oh VISIT: Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drugs JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 430 Guests: Dr. Robert Fox, Dr. James Stark /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39138365

Special Episode: Participating in MS Research with Chiquita Shepard-Knight and Earl Sneed 11/20/2025

Special Episode: Participating in MS Research with Chiquita Shepard-Knight and Earl Sneed Welcome to a RealTalk MS special series on MS clinical trials. This special series is made possible through a generous grant from Sanofi. In today's episode, you'll meet two participants from the TEAMS Study, a research study at the University of Illinois Chicago's UI Health, in conjunction with the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Public Health. TEAAMS is an acronym for Targeted Exercise for African-Americans with Multiple Sclerosis. And the study's research team analyzed the effects of a remotely delivered, racially tailored exercise training program among African Americans with MS living in low-income areas of the Southeastern United States, including Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. This is a part of the country that doesn't have many primary care or MS clinics that provide full exercise and rehabilitation services for patients with MS. The TEAMMS study consists of two 16-week exercise programs, completed 3 days per week at home. One exercise program combines aerobic and resistance training, while the other focuses on stretching and flexibility. Study participants were randomly assigned to one of the two programs, and all of the materials to complete each program, like yoga mats, resistance bands, and training manuals, were provided. And every study participant receives a $90 gift card in compensation for completing the program. The study's research team hypothesizes that completing the TEAAMS program would improve walking, reduce symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, depression, and pain, and enhance quality of life. This special episode of RealTalk MS is made possible by a generous grant from Sanofi. Sanofi has two ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials in MS studying Frexalimab, an investigational second-generation anti-CD40 ligand monoclonal antibody. If you are interested in learning more about these clinical trials, please visit SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39102990

Episode 429: Caring for Your Partner with MS While Holding Down a Full-Time Job with Diana Grazio 11/17/2025

Episode 429: Caring for Your Partner with MS While Holding Down a Full-Time Job with Diana Grazio Being a caregiver for a loved one with MS isn't an easy job. And, while it may consume hours of your time, often, it's not your only job. Many caregivers are the only family members bringing in an income. So, in addition to their caregiving responsibilities, they may also be facing the responsibilities that go along with holding down a full-time job. This week, Diana Grazio joins me to discuss how she balances her roles and responsibilities as her partner's caregiver while holding down a full-time job. You have online opportunities tomorrow! Participate in the National MS Society's Hispanic LatinX MS Experience Summit, or catch the International Progressive MS Alliance's global webcast, How Existing Drugs Could Transform MS Treatment. We have all the info for you to register for either or both! If you purchase your health insurance through the ACA Healthcare Marketplace, you've probably already been notified that your premiums will skyrocket in 2026. MS Activist, Sarah Quezada, shares how those premium increases will affect her family. Roche has announced the outcomes of Phase 3 clinical trials for Fenebrutinib and Relapsing MS, and Primary Progressive MS. It's positive news, and we have the details! Could nanoparticles penetrate the blood-brain barrier and deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the central nervous system? University of Illinois researchers say yes! We're sharing the details. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: It's National Family Caregiver Month :22 The MS Care Partner Connection :34 The National MS Society is hosting the Hispanic LatinX MS Experience Summit TOMORROW! 2:20 The International Progressive MS Alliance Global Webcast is TOMORROW! 2:51 Sarah Quezada shares how astronomical increases in ACA health insurance premiums will affect her family 3:46 Roche announces outcomes for Phase 3 clinical trials for Fenebrutinib and Relapsing MS, and Primary Progressive MS 11:59 Could nanoparticles penetrate the blood-brain barrier and deliver anti-inflammatory medication directly to the central nervous system? 13:43 Diana Grazio discusses how she manages her role as a caregiver while holding down a full-time job 16:07 Share this episode 29:10 Next week's episode 29:30 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at PARTICIPATE: Take the Shaping Tomorrow Together Online Survey SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist REGISTER: The Hispanic LatinX MS Experience Summit REGISTER: International Progressive MS Alliance Global Webcast VISIT: The MS Care Partner Connection STUDY: Nanoparticle-Boosted Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Therapy for Immune Reprogramming in Multiple Sclerosis JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 429 Guests: Sarah Quezada, Diana Grazio /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/39047285

Episode 428: The Effects of Smoking, Consuming Alcohol, and Consuming Caffeine on Your MS with Dr. Barbara Giesser 11/10/2025

Episode 428: The Effects of Smoking, Consuming Alcohol, and Consuming Caffeine on Your MS with Dr. Barbara Giesser As researchers continue to learn about MS, it becomes clear that you can change the trajectory of your MS journey and improve your quality of life by making smart lifestyle choices. Quitting smoking and watching your alcohol and caffeine consumption are smart choices for everyone, and they can pay especially big dividends if you're living with MS. This week, Dr. Barbara Giesser discusses how smoking, consuming alcohol, and consuming caffeine can impact your MS. We're also sharing the details about the Black MS Experience Summit taking place on November 12th, and the Hispanic LatinX MS Experience Summit taking place on November 19th. We'll tell you about a study that revealed what may be a novel way of stimulating remyelination. You'll meet Dr. Arman Eshaghi and hear about how artificial intelligence may impact your future MRI exam. We'll share study results that show that carbohydrate consumption may increase the risk of an individual developing MS. And we'll tell you about a study that looked at the connection between starting a disease-modifying therapy early and quality of life related to cognitive function and fatigue. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: What you need to know about how smoking, consuming alcohol, and consuming caffeine impact your MS :22 The Black MS Experience Summit is TOMORROW! 1:32 The National MS Society is hosting the Hispanic LatinX MS Experience Summit on Nov 19th 2:33 Study results indicate the path to myelin repair may require subtraction, not addition 3:04 Dr. Arman Eshaghi discusses how AI may change how MRI scans are interpreted 5:12 Study results show a connection between carbohydrate intake and MS risk 15:10 Study results show how starting a DMT early impacts quality of life related to cognitive function and fatigue among people with MS 17:55 Dr. Barbara Giesser discusses how smoking, consuming alcohol, and consuming caffeine impact people living with MS 21:38 Share this episode 31:07 Next week's episode 31:27 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at PARTICIPATE: Take the Shaping Tomorrow Together Online Survey SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist WATCH: The RealTalk MS ECTRIMS Extra Conversations video playlist on YouTube STUDY: Gt2fi-Encoded Transcription Factor Tfii-i Regulates Myelin Via Sox10 and Mbp Regulatory Elements STUDY: Association Between Dietary Carbohydrate Intake and Multiple Sclerosis Risk: A Large-Scale Cohort Study STUDY: Self-Reported Quality of Life Related to Cognitive Function and Fatigue in Adults with Multiple Sclerosis REGISTER: The Black MS Experience Summit REGISTER: The Hispanic LatinX MS Experience Summit JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 428 Guests: Dr. Arman Eshaghi, Dr. Barbara Giesser /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/38931320

Episode 427: Science-Based Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS with Dr. Lisa Doggett 11/03/2025

Episode 427: Science-Based Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS with Dr. Lisa Doggett When you're living with a chronic condition like MS, you want to be sure you're doing everything you can to preserve and promote good health. And, right now, you may be feeling confused about whether you should be getting vaccinated, and which vaccines are safe. It's understandable. Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusing information about vaccines and vaccinations floating around out there. This week, Dr. Lisa Doggett helps us get past all the unnecessary noise and hysteria and reviews the science-based vaccine recommendations for people living with MS. We're also talking about the historic meeting that took place last week between the FDA and people affected by MS. We're sharing dramatic results from the largest study of its kind that measured the true impact of MS on quality of life. And we're giving you all the details about the National MS Society's upcoming Black MS Experience Summit. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Reliable, science-based vaccine guidance for people living with MS :22 An historic meeting between the FDA and the MS community 1:17 The largest study of its kind shows the true impact of MS on quality of life 3:13 The National MS Society is hosting the Black MS Experience Summit on Nov 12th 4:40 Dr. Lisa Doggett covers everything you need to know about vaccines and MS 6:22 Share this episode 26:10 Next week's episode 26:30 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: 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: Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the ! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the or at PARTICIPATE: Take the Shaping Tomorrow Together Online Survey SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist WATCH: The RealTalk MS ECTRIMS Extra Conversations video playlist on YouTube STUDY: EQ-5D-5L In Multiple Sclerosis: Estimated Utility Values, Minimal (Clinically) Important Changes, and Direct and Indirect Influences Over Time REGISTER: The Black MS Experience Summit JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, , and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, . RealTalk MS Episode 427 Guests: Dr. Lisa Doggett /episode/index/show/realtalkms/id/38875175

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