[Re-sent] March 27, 2024

Hey - I have whiplash from the changes in the weather this last week.☀️ 🥶 It's cold and rainy right now but by the end of the week, it's going to be 72 degrees and sunny!?!? 🙃  I guess this is typical of this time of year. My MS'y body would prefer if we could just pick a lane and stay in it for a while. I'm feeling every single degree and barometric pressure change. How about YOU? How is it where you are and - does the weather mess with you physically too? Hit reply to this email and let me know. I LOVE hearing from you. ❤️Have you heard the latest? No - let me spill the MS tea . . . 1.  MS pisses me off. But pediatric MS - breaks my heart. I'm working with a company looking at UVB light therapy as an adjunct therapy for both kids and adults with MS. Imagine the sun's rays being part of the answer!?!? 🌞 In this study, published in Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, children with MS have better outcomes if treated early and with the same high-efficacy therapies as adults. Good to get clarity on what treatments are going to help kids the most. But I also want those kids - and ALL of you - to GET OUTSIDE AND GET SOME SUNSHINE!  Here's the study: Global study could change how children with multiple sclerosis are treated2.  This is truly disturbing: "two chemicals found in common household products like disinfectants and furniture may play a role in the development of neurological disorders like autism and multiple sclerosis, according to a new study, adding to previous research that found the chemicals may be detrimental to human health."  Think: Lysol and Clorox. My usage of these products during and since COVID has grown exponentially. Pretty sure I'm not alone in that. Chemicals Found In Popular Household Products Potentially Linked To Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Study Suggests3.  "A subset of astrocytes — a type of support cell for the central nervous system — has a form of immune-related memory that might contribute to a worsening of MS, according to recent research." So let me get this straight: these little bastards that live in our CNS have this super memory that can increase inflammation and make our MS symptoms worse - symptoms like, oh, I don't know, MEMORY issues?? Hello irony. I don't remember inviting you here!! Astrocytes, much like immune cells, can drive inflammation in MS4.  🎶Ground control to Major Tom 🎶 (sorry if I lost you on the old musical reference). 3, 2, 1 - LIFTOFF 🚀  Last Thursday, A SpaceX rocket shot a craft filled with more than 6,000 pounds of cargo into Earth’s orbit. On board were brain organoids sent by the National Stem Cell Foundation in Louisville. The organoids are collections of cells that mimic the central nervous systems of people with Parkinson’s disease and primary progressive multiple sclerosis!!  Why you may ask? "Cells behave differently in space than they do on Earth. In space, in 3D, you can see cells talking to each other in a way that's not possible on Earth. Because cells also mature more rapidly in space, you can see in an accelerated way what's happening when diseases develop.”  Mind blown 🤯.  Louisville group sends medical experiment supplies on Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis to space5.  Have you ever considered how lesions grow - from the middle outward or from say an outer ring, inward?! WHOA. That made my head hurt. I honestly never have. I guess I just thought BAM a lesion was there! And then it grew. Truly, I never thought about it! But now - we have a study about it - along with an answer:  MS lesions grow from center outward, new mapping study shows6.  Don't forget it's MS Awareness Month. And as such, Multiple Sclerosis News Today is running features on MS advocates. Today was my turn (note the large glass of wine in my hand - that's a medicine we don't talk about enough!🍷): Coming to terms with my own MS diagnosis let me help othersI'm trying something new. Let me know what you think:____________________________________________________MS EventsMultiple Sclerosis Foundation Education Programs and EventsMultiple Sclerosis Association of America Special EventsNational Multiple Sclerosis Society Calendar of Programs and Events______________________________________________________MS Memes

That's all folks. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you in any way. Otherwise, just keep saying FUMS!! 🧡Cheers -- KathyKathy Reagan YoungFounderFUMSP.S. If you enjoy the humor, information, inspiration, and motivation in this newsletter, you can help support it by donating here:  I 🧡 FUMS

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