Taking your meds on schedule can be a challenge for people with MS. This is true of all people living with a chronic disease, but it might be particularly hard for PwMS. This could be because MS is a very long disease requiring medication over many years. There is also a lot of uncertainty and it can be tough to be reminded about MS every time you take your meds. As you know, if meds are not...
The MS-Blog
You may or may not have noticed that the name of the blog has changed; it is now called ‘The MS-Blog’. The MS-Blog is now the digital equivalent of Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. Every blogger allowed or invited onto the platform uses their own soapbox to stand on and they can say what they want. However, they need to be aware that if they get prosecuted for anything they write or...
Guest-post from an ocrelizumaber
I uploaded a video to theMSguide.com a few days ago talking about my concerns as an ocrelizumab patient and how the potential lack of Covid vaccine response stood to impact my life. I am five full infusions into this DMT and the fact that it appears to severely impact the ability to generate a meaningful immune response after a Covid-19 jab is administered is no fault of anybody or anything. It...
#MSCOVID19 Astrazeneca Vaccine and Blood Clot information
Here are some links to information about the Astrazeneca vaccine and small risk of blood clotting, which have just gone live. Hopefully these will help with your questions. Press release MHRA issues new advice, concluding a possible link between COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and extremely rare, unlikely to occur blood clots – GOV.UKThe benefits of vaccination continue to outweigh any risks...
#MSCOVID19 Newsflash. Early data on vaccine responses appears.
Good news for cladribine, not so good for ocrelizumab and fingolimod Data has surfaced today at an International MS meeting on the impact of MS disease modifying treatments and it looks like it is supporting the biology. As presented by Dr Anat Archirion from Israel and as anticipated from past vaccination data, there was a poor (less than 20%) seroconversion (assessed using the Eurimmune Ig...
Why would you make a comic book about that?
Things neurologists don’t expect to hear during a consultation, example #327: “I’ve made a comic book about having MS, and you appear as a character on the first page! Can I send you a copy?” But that is exactly what I said to Prof K last time we met. And here is that first page: I know he doesn’t really look anything like that. I don’t have an enormous Mohican either. And more importantly, I...
Preventive Neurology
Prof G is the co-director of the Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, and will now be dedicating most of his academic time to this activity; in particular the prevention of MS. Any blog posts in relation to #MSPrevention will now be posted on his preventive neurology blog, for example, today’s post on smoking and MS prevention.
Progressive MS podcast
Barry Singer’s MS Living Well Podcast on progressive MS in which he interviews Mark Webb, MS patient advocate, Head of Comms at Shift.ms & Prof G, neurologist, at Barts-MS.
If you are interested there are many more other interesting podcasts on the MS Living Well platform that covers all things MS.
To be vaccinated or not?
The following is a preliminary summary of the UK MS Register’s survey to establish how people with MS (pwMS) viewed the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccinations. Importantly, the data shows that despite being quite vocal the anti-vaccine message doesn’t seem to be having the same effect in the UK as it is in other countries. Fewer than 6% of respondents said they would probably or...
Bed to 5km Challenge
It’s officially over! Prof G and Dr Ruth, paired-up this afternoon for a socially-distanced 5-km walk around Brockwell Park in South London. This officially completes Prof G’s ‘Bed to 5-km Challenge’ to help raise money for Dr Ruth’s and Dr Angray’s COVID-19 antibody study. The good news is that the Barts-MS team through ‘Prof G’s virtual NYC...