RealTalk MS

As the year draws to a close, we wanted to share some of the most compelling conversations we've had over the past 12 months. And rather than make my own picks, we went through the hundreds of emails we've received over the past year from the RealTalk MS listener community to see which topics really connected with you. In this week's episode, you'll hear from four of the top MS experts in the world discussing the subjects you've told me are most important to you. First, we'll explore aging and MS with Dr. John Corboy, the principal investigator of the largest study designed to answer the question, "Once I turn 60, can I discontinue my disease-modifying therapies?" We'll talk about remyelination with the winner of the 2025 Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research, Dr. Mikael Simons. You'll hear our conversation with one of the world's top MS rehabilitation experts, Dr. John DeLuca, as we tackle one of the most disruptive MS symptoms -- fatigue. And we'll wrap up this episode by talking with clinician-scientist Dr. Stephen Krieger about the confusion around trying to reconcile the idea of progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) with a diagnosis of relapsing-remitting MS. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! This Week: Our most important conversations of 2025 :22 Dr. John Corboy discusses aging and MS 1:07 Dr. Mikael Simons discusses remyelination 10:54 Dr. John DeLuca discusses MS-related fatigue 19:20 Dr. Stephen Krieger discusses how the current course descriptors for MS (relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive, primary progressive) may no longer be working for doctors or patients 26:11 Share this episode 42:10 Next week's episode 42:30 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/433 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 SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist https://nationalmssociety.org/advocacy JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms REVIEW: 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 433 Guests: Dr. John Corboy, Dr. Mikael Simons, Dr. John DeLuca, Dr. Stephen Krieger Privacy Policy

This special episode of RealTalk MS is sponsored by EMD Serono and is only intended for a U.S. audience. EMD Serono is the healthcare business of Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in the United States and Canada. Please note this episode is only intended for a U.S. audience. In this special episode of RealTalk MS, Professor Elisabeth Celius and Amanda Montague join me to explore new consensus recommendations for the future of MS care from MS in the 21st Century. We'll hear what experts and people in the MS community think are the priorities to focus on to improve care and help lessen the burden of living with MS. Professor Elisabeth Celius is a consultant neurologist with a special focus on MS at Oslo University Hospital in Norway, where she is the group leader of the MS Research Group and also conducts epidemiological, genetic, and clinical research. Amanda Montague is a global thought leader and Interim President & CEO of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. Both Amanda and Elisabeth are active members of the MS in the 21st Century initiative, more commonly known as MS21. MS21 is a Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, initiative involving healthcare professionals, people with MS, and patient advocacy groups. To learn more about MS in the 21st Century, please visit www.msinthe21stcentury.com.

Michael Jordan never won an NBA championship until he was paired with the right coach. Then, he won six. Could working with a coach change your MS journey? In this week's episode, health & wellness coach Amy Behimer explains what health coaching is all about and how working with a coach might impact someone living with MS. We're also sharing study results that show DMTs fail to manage MS-related pain. Then, we'll explain how a common misconception can lead to the wrong outcome for someone with MS. And we'll share study results showing that adhering to the Mediterranean or MIND diet improves cognitive performance among people living with MS. We'll also explain why this study raises as many questions as it seeks to answer. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! Thank you! :22 This Week: What working with a health coach is all about 1:08 Study results show that disease-modifying therapies don't help manage MS-related pain (But are they supposed to???) 2:29 Study results show that adhering to the Mediterranean or MIND diet improves cognitive performance among people with MS (Or does it??) 5:13 Health & Wellness Coach Amy Behimer explains how someone living with MS could benefit from coaching 12:11 Share this episode 39:33 Next week's episode 39:53 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/432 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 DONATE: The National MS Society https://nationalmssociety.org/donate SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist https://nationalmssociety.org/advocacy STUDY: Phase 2 Clinical Trial for Moderna's EBV Vaccine and MS https://www.msard-journal.com/article/S2211-0348(25)00573-5/fulltext STUDY: Mediterranean and MIND Diet Patterns and Cognitive Performance in Multiple Sclerosis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the UK Multiple Sclerosis Register https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/21/3326 JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms REVIEW: 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 432 Guests: Amy Behimer Privacy Policy

Welcome to a RealTalk MS special series on MS clinical trials. This special series is made possible through a generous grant from Sanofi. In this final episode of this series, you'll meet Jan Janisch-Hanzlik. Jan lives with MS and is a participant in one of the clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy for MS. In CAR-T cell therapy, blood is taken from the patient or a healthy donor, much as you would donate blood. This blood is sent to a lab, where the white blood cells, or T-cells, are separated out and reprogrammed to carry a receptor designed to fight a particular condition. This receptor is known as a chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR. Over several weeks in the lab, these fortified T-cells multiply until there are millions of them, then they're reintroduced to the patient by intravenous infusion. CAR-T cell therapy is already used to treat some blood cancers, and Jan is the first person in the world to receive this one-and-done treatment to treat MS. She's joining us to share her experience participating in the clinical trial and to give us an update on how she's doing following her treatment. This special episode of RealTalk MS is made possible by a generous grant from Sanofi. Sanofi has two ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials in MS studying Frexalimab, an investigational second-generation anti-CD40 ligand monoclonal antibody. If you are interested in learning more about these clinical trials, please visit SanofiStudies.com SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/ct4 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! Privacy Policy

At the age of 14, Michaela Janssen Pohl became a caregiver for her mother, who lives with MS. I think most of us can agree that just being a teenager carries with it more than enough challenges. Those adolescent years are the years when just about everything in life starts changing. Imagine adding the responsibilities of being a caregiver to all the other things going on in a 14-year-old girl's life. Michaela joins me this week to explain how she found ways to survive and thrive in what can only be described as a challenging situation for any teenager. We'll also explain why you might want to think a little differently about Giving Tuesday this year. We're sharing all the details about the Phase 2 clinical trial focusing on Moderna's investigational Epstein-Barr vaccine and MS (and we'll explain why that might turn out to be important!) We're talking about how MS impacts women's health issues with this year's winner of the Rachel Horne Prize for Women's Research in Multiple Sclerosis, Dr. Kristen Krysko. And we're sharing the results of the Phase 2 clinical trial for PIPE-307, an investigational remyelination therapy. We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??! It's Giving Tuesday (and why that matters more this year than ever before) :22 This Week: Becoming a caregiver for a parent with MS when you're 14 years old 3:27 A clinical trial focused on an EBV vaccine and MS is recruiting participants 4:25 Dr. Kristen Krysko discusses MS and women's health issues 7:52 Results from the Phase 2 clinical trial for PIPE-307 remyelination therapy 13:48 Michaela Janssen Pohl shares her story of becoming a caregiver at the age of 14 16:55 Share this episode 33:20 Next week's episode 33:40 SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/431 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 DONATE: The National MS Society https://nationalmssociety.org/donate SIGN UP: Become an MS Activist https://nationalmssociety.org/advocacy PARTICIPATE: Phase 2 Clinical Trial for Moderna's EBV Vaccine and MS https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06735248 Email: [email protected] JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms REVIEW: 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 431 Guests: Dr. Kristen Krysko, Michaela Janssen Pohl Privacy Policy