Episode 217: Living with MS and Managing Comorbidities with Dr. Alissa Willis

Research shows that more than 50% of the people living with MS will experience another chronic health condition in their lifetime. These additional health conditions, known as comorbidities, have been shown to negatively affect disability progression and health-related quality of life. In other words, living with comorbidities makes living with MS more challenging than it has to be. Joining me to talk about living with MS while managing and even avoiding comorbidities is Dr. Alissa Willis, Chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. I'm also sharing my take-aways after watching Introducing, Selma Blair, the documentary film that portrays Selma Blair's MS journey and her stem cell therapy treatment. You'll hear some thoughts about why including patients in conference presentations about the patient perspective might just be a good idea. You'll meet MS patient advocate Julie Stamm when we talk with Julie about her new children's book, SOME DAYS: A Tale of Love, Ice Cream, and My Mom's Chronic Illness. (And we'll tell you how you can win your own copy of Julie's book!) And we'll share completely different outcomes from two mesenchymal stem cell clinical trials. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! Some thoughts about the documentary film, Introducing, Selma Blair  1:12 Don't forget the patients in presentations about the patient perspective   9:14 MS patient advocate Julie Stamm talks about her new children's book, SOME DAYS: A Tale of Love, Ice Cream, and My Mom's Chronic Illness   11:25 Two Mesenchymal Stem Cell clinical trial outcomes  19:49 Dr. Alissa Willis discusses living with MS while managing and even avoiding comorbidities   23:01 Share this episode  37:16 Catch Episode 7 of The MS Caregiver Conundrum  37:37 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/217 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: [email protected] Phone: (310) 526-2283 And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group! LINKS If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com National MS Society COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for People Living with MS https://www.nationalmssociety.org/coronavirus-covid-19-information/multiple-sclerosis-and-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-guidance National MS Society Third COVID-19 Vaccine Dose Guidance for People Living with MS https://www.nationalmssociety.org/About-the-Society/News/Additional-COVID-19-Vaccine-Dose-(Booster)-and-MS The MS Caregiver Conundrum Podcast https://mscaregiverconundrum.com National MS Society: aHSCT in MS https://nationalmssociety.org/ahsct STUDY: Safety, Tolerability, and Activity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Versus Placebo in Multiple Sclerosis (MESEMS): A Phase 2 Randomised, Double-Blind Crossover Trial https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S147444222100301X?dgcid=coauthor STUDY: Central Nervous System Atrophy Predicts Future Dynamics of Disability Progression in a Real-World Multiple Sclerosis Cohort https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ene.15098 Join the RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms Download the RealTalk MS App for iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realtalk-ms/id1436917200 Download the RealTalk MS App for Androidhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.wizzard.android.realtalk Give RealTalk MS a rating and review http://www.realtalkms.com/review Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com. RealTalk MS Episode 217 Guests: Julie Stamm and Dr. Alissa Willis Tags: MS, MultipleSclerosis, MSResearch, MSSociety, RealTalkMS Privacy Policy