multiple sclerosis

Arts

What is multiple sclerosis, the illness causing Selma Blair's early 'Dancing' exit?

4:04am October 19, 2022

by Ayana Archie

The actress Blair has been competing on the dance show for the past four weeks, but bowed out due to doctors' orders regarding her multiple sclerosis illness.

This image from an electron microscope shows a cross-sectional view of an oligodendrocyte (blue) among nerve fibers coated with myelin (dark red). In models of autism spectrum disorder, oligodendrocytes appear to create too much or too little myelin.

Researchers Link Autism To A System That Insulates Brain Wiring

5:45pm February 03, 2020

by Jon Hamilton

Brains affected by autism appear to share a problem with cells that make myelin, the insulating coating surrounding nerve fibers that controls the speed at which the fibers convey electrical signals.

Patients Still Struggle To Balance High Costs Of MS Treatment, Despite Generic

9:00am January 20, 2020

by Sydney Lupkin

Drugs to treat multiple sclerosis can run $70,000 a year or more. Patients hoped competition from a generic version of one of the most popular brands would spur relief, but prices went up. Here's why.

A scanning electron micrograph shows microglial cells (yellow) ingesting branched oligodendrocyte cells (purple), a process thought to occur in multiple sclerosis. Oligodendrocytes form insulating myelin sheaths around nerve axons in the central nervous s

Researchers Find A Web Of Factors Behind Multiple Sclerosis

8:35am January 21, 2019

by Bret Stetka

It's looking like MS strikes when a variety of triggers gang up to impair neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Researchers are using their new knowledge to search for treatments.

Crowdfunding campaigns have raised millions of dollars for treatments of questionable efficacy, two studies published recently say.

Health & Safety

Crowdfunding Drives Funds And Attention Toward Questionable Medical Treatments

3:42pm January 02, 2019

by Rachel D. Cohen

Many Americans turn to crowdfunding to pay for medical care. But sometimes the money covers unproven treatments. Should crowdfunding companies be held accountable for spreading false hopes?

Shereese Hickson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012 and is unable to work. She supports herself and her son, Isaiah, on $770 a month.

Health & Safety

Chronically Ill, Traumatically Billed: $123,019 For 2 Multiple Sclerosis Treatments

11:12pm November 27, 2018

by Jay Hancock

Shereese Hickson's doctor wanted her to try a drug called Ocrevus for her multiple sclerosis. Trained as a medical billing coder, Hickson was shocked by the six-figure bill and the share she owed.

Queue Listen Now

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act still prohibits your insurer from using the results of genetic tests against you. But the ACA's additional protections may be in doubt if certain states get their way.

Has Genetic Privacy Been Strained By Trump's Recent ACA Moves?

8:02am July 11, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

As the Trump administration decides not to defend the Affordable Care Act's legal protections for people with pre-existing conditions, questions arise about health insurance and genetic information.

As the price of specialty drugs continues to rise, some health plans are shifting more of the cost to patients.

Why Some Patients Getting Drugmakers' Help Are Paying More

5:00am May 30, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

Some health plans are refusing to count the copayment assistance offered by drugmakers as part of a patient's deductible. That means some patients are paying thousands of dollars more out-of-pocket.

Dr. Carla Rossotti (left), a general practitioner, and her health care team leave the home of the their patient, 37-year-old Osvaldo Daniel Martinez. He has the symptoms of a degenerative disease, Rossotti says, but he needs a neurologist's evaluation bef

For One Father And Son In Puerto Rico, A Storm Was Just The Latest Trial

8:47pm March 22, 2018

by Sarah Varney

The Martinez family has been waiting more than a year for a neurologist to diagnose the son's condition. He needs a diagnosis to be eligible for the health care he needs, but can't get an appointment.

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Alzheimer's disease causes atrophy of brain tissue. The discovery that lymph vessels near the brain's surface help remove waste suggests glitches in the lymph system might be involved in Alzheimer's and a variety of other brain diseases.

Brain's Link To Immune System Might Help Explain Alzheimer's

6:10pm October 03, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

For centuries, scientists thought the human brain had no direct connection to the body's immune system. Now researchers seem to have found one, and say it may offer clues to multiple sclerosis, too.

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