Hello friends --We've had some wild weather here in Coastal Virginia. Last weekend, a tornado touched down in Virginia Beach! The weather had been weird all weekend and culminated in a tornado Sunday evening.  The power of Mother Nature is humbling.  My MS has been rearing it's ugly little head a bit again lately - thanks to the ever changing roller-coaster weather! How about YOU??  Alrighty - let's get to it:1.  YAY for collaborations 🥳 : A yearlong project by University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) engineering and nursing students has meant new customized assistive devices for people with physical conditions, including MS.  ‘Faces on Design’ project unveils assistive devices for patients2.  Like I've always said: Feta makes everything betta!!  Mediterranean Diet Demonstrates Significant Positive Impacts on Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis3. I bought myself a Meta Quest 2 Virtual Reality headset last year  - and I LOVE it. I can do the fun movement programs anytime - anywhere - and I can escape my reality at anytime too.  It's as good for my head as it is for my body. And now this: Virtual reality therapy can improve balance in patients: The therapy may also help with postural control and reduce the fear of falling   **If you're interested - here is the one I got: Meta Quest 2  4. IgG antibodies harvested from the blood of MS patients drove nerve cell death in cell cultures, whereas antibodies from healthy people or people with other inflammatory and neurological diseases did not. Researchers believe their findings could help in developing new therapies that target the underlying mechanisms of MS and prevent its progression.  Antibody clumps in blood could drive nerve cell death in MS5.  Last week I shared a picture of the FUMS fanny pack and holy cow - we had a run on FUMS fanny packs! So - I thought I'd share another of our best sellers: the FUMS hat - surrounding your globe with that FUMS attitude!!  MS hair - don't care! Check it out: FUMS Hat6.  When I was dx'ed (15 years ago), the neuros were married to the "step therapy" model. Basically give the drug with the best side effect profile and the lowest dosage. I'm glad they realized that you need to kick this bastard in the teeth - and start with the big gun therapy where tolerated/appropriate. Early use of Ocrevus lowers disease activity in relapsing MS - Starting patients on treatment soon after diagnosis seen as 'highly efficacious'That's all folks. Hope you learned something or at least got a little giggle today! If you have any questions - or there's anything I can help you with - just hit reply to this email and let me know.  I'll do my very best to help.  Warmly -- Kathy#FUMS

Sometimes it helps the stress, just to say "F-U-M-S"