MS Living Well Podcast: Earliest Stages of Multiple Sclerosis

Years before the first typical neurological symptoms of multiple sclerosis such as numbness or visual loss, individuals can have other symptoms that are often overlooked. This period of time is called the MS prodrome. During the prodrome phase, there is an increase in symptoms including skin, gastrointestinal and psychiatric issues. Research may lead to earlier detection of MS.

Sometimes brain spots or “lesions” typical of multiple sclerosis can be surprisingly found in people who get an MRI scan of the brain for unrelated reasons such as headaches or head trauma. If the person never had MS symptoms, it’s called radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS). RIS risk factors that really increase the risk of a MS relapse include spinal cord lesions, oligoclonal bands in spinal fluid and new MRI lesions over time. Clinical trials for RIS treatment reviewed including recent positive results.

This podcast episode is sponsored by Octave.

Barry Singer MD, Director of The MS Center for Innovations in Care, interviews:

Helen Tremlett PhD

Helen Tremlett PhD is a Professor in the Division of Neurology at the University of British Columbia and the Canada Research Chair in Neuroepidemiology and Multiple Sclerosis. She trained in pharmacoepidemiology and multiple sclerosis with a PhD from Cardiff University, UK. Her ongoing research studies include the MS prodrome, safety and effectiveness of the disease-modifying drugs for MS; pharmacogenomics; risk of MS in special populations; impact of comorbidities on MS outcomes; and the gut microbiome and MS.

Erin Longbrake MD PhD

Erin Longbrake MD PhD is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Yale School of Medicine. She is Director of Neuroimmunology Clinical Research and Director of the fellowship program. She received her MD & PhD degrees at The Ohio State University. Dr. Longbrake completed her neurology residency and was a Sylvia Lawry fellow of the National MS Society from 2013-2016 at Washington University in St. Louis.