A quiet revolution is taking place in the multiple sclerosis community. Long thought of as purely an autoimmune disease, possibly secondary to Epstein-Barr virus infection or even an STI, MS has never been pinned down to a single cause. Now things are changing, in a big and bloody way: MS appears to be related to abnormalities in veins. [more inside]
posted by greatgefilte on Jul 12, 2009 - 48 comments

One recent celebrity death that most likely fell under the U.S. radar was that of Terry Black, who in the early 1960s was Canada's answer to Fabian. Growing up listening to CKLW, I remember Terry Black for "Goin' Down (The Road to L.A.)", recorded with his wife, Laurel Ward. Black had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis just a year ago, and apparently died from complications of the disease. [more inside]
posted by Oriole Adams on Jul 1, 2009 - 15 comments

Richard Horne, better known as Harry Horse, died this weekend. This news is more prominent in the UK than in the US, but Harry Horse (MySpace) was not only a writer and illustrator of children's books, but he also designed video games and drew striking political cartoons. In the 80's he played with a band called Swamptrash (listened to but unavailable on LastFM), whose other members eventually went on to form Shooglenifty. Tragically, Richard's wife Mandy developed Multiple Sclerosis, and eventually became confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak. Rather than live without her, he chose to help her die and then take his own life, possibly reigniting the discussion in the UK about euthanasia.
posted by Medieval Maven on Jan 11, 2007 - 11 comments

Dr. Katz has multiple sclerosis. A great profile of comedian Jonathan Katz, who is now battling the horrible disease.
posted by braun_richard on Jan 28, 2005 - 23 comments

Multiple Sclerosis could be sexually transmitted! Not only that, your risk of developping the disease can double if you own a bird, but if you own a cat or a dog, your risk decreases...
posted by titboy on Sep 19, 2002 - 28 comments