April 5, 2024

Your FUMS 6-Pack Just Arrived!🍻

April 10, 2024

Hey -

How's things? I am riding the struggle bus. I am counting the days (2) until I get my next infusion of Briumvi. Unfortunately, it seems the hospital infusion center miscounted the weeks in between my infusions (24) and I'm a couple of weeks beyond when I should have gotten it! UGH. Oh well - just think how great I'll feel on Friday!! 😀 Can. Not. Wait. ALSO - I did the Walk MS event last weekend and it was a blast! What an uplifting environment with signs and cheering and music and

orange

as far as the eye can see! Team FUMS was in the top 5 fundraising teams!! Next year I hope I'm feeling better and can recruit more people for the team (ahem - looking at

you

people 🫵🏻) and raise even more money. Money = research = cure. Let's go!! 🧡

SO - what's been going on in the world of MS this week???? Oh so much . . .

1. OK - stop it right now. I love me a good two-fer but this one - well - it's pretty interesting. Check it out: "Analyses revealed that several anti-diabetic weight loss medications were associated with a reduced risk of MS. In particular, semaglutide significantly lowered the likelihood of developing MS by 76.2%, dulaglutide by 83.5%, liraglutide by 83.9%, empagliflozin by 76.6%, and metformin by 61.3%." Svelte and not twitchy?? Yes, please.

Obesity medications linked to reduced chance of MS in real world

2. No big surprise here: the Mediterranean Diet is good for older MS patients. HEY - WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLDER, PAL?? Sorry - I have a big milestone birthday coming up next month and I'm a little touchy! But seriously - is there anyone that this diet isn't good for?? Bit of an overstatement as I'm sure there are some people that it isn't beneficial for but really - not many! Are you following it? If not - maybe you should - regardless of your age or stage:

Mediterranean diet has benefits for older MS patients

3. Stem Cell Therapy. Always interesting. And now this: "In a groundbreaking development, an international team of researchers has unveiled a remarkable advancement in the fight against progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Their study, led by scientists from the University of Cambridge, the University of Milan Bicocca, and Hospital Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza in Italy, demonstrates the safety, tolerance, and long-lasting effectiveness of injecting a specific type of stem cell directly into the brains of patients living with progressive MS. This breakthrough paves the way for the development of advanced cell therapy treatments for this debilitating disease that affects over 2 million people worldwide." Want to learn more?? Watch one of my favorite doctors (Dr. David Perlmutter) interview the lead researcher in this study:

4. An inverse vaccine developed by

Nykode Therapeutics

to boost immune system tolerance to a specific protein target was able to prevent the development of MS in a mouse model of the disease. Prevent?? Yep - prevent. Now that's good stuff.

Nykode’s ‘inverse vaccine’ found to prevent MS in mouse model

5. And in the "finally some good news" department: have you ever heard of "MS Burnout"? I hadn't. It's when MS progression dramatically slows later in life. Hell yeah. Can I get an amen? This sounds like the least we deserve from the MonSter, amiright?

MS Burnout: Something to Hope For, Not to Dread

6. It's April - you know what that means, right?? Summer is right around the corner. On the one hand, that's exciting and happy-making. On the other hand, (the one that's numb and tingling and twitching), the heat is coming and that is not good news for those of us whose MS is impacted by heat. And that's most of us. So - now's the time to order the

BEST

cooling vest in the west (and the north, south, and east as well). It's the Thermapparel UnderCool - and it was literally made for those of us with MS. I have tried them ALL - and most of them made me look like an umpire or a serious threat to domestic safety. This one fits snug to the body and is undetectable - even under a teeshirt (like any of the FUMS tees available in the

FUMS Shop

). That's why I partnered with them. I can stay outside and cool for up to 3 hours!! Here's where to go to get yours:

ThermApparel UnderCool Cooling Vest