The First Year: Multiple Sclerosis



By Margaret Blackstone. Published by Marlowe and Company, 2007.
ISBN -13 978-1-56924-261-2, ISBN -10 1-56924-261-5

Being diagnosed with MS is often traumatic, and seldom well handled by the medical profession, whether general practitioner or neurologist. This book aims to reassure and inform the newly diagnosed.
The author, who has MS herself, is an experienced medical writer, and writes with an easy informal style.

The book is structured on a week-by-week basis, and gives what the author believes is the key information for that part of the patient experience. Whilst this implicitly assumes the book is acquired at time of diagnosis, a decent index means this is not insurmountable. Most of the basic information is here and very firmly targeted at a non-expert audience. Note that the book is written with a US reader in mind. Details of medical insurance structures and references to the legal protections that people with MS enjoy are specifically American.

The book will appeal to those who like anecdotes, which it uses widely to illustrate the points being made. It sits somewhere between the ‘self-help’ genre and a more medically-orientated patient guide. Whilst there is much useful information, there are a couple of weaknesses with the book.

First, it could usefully incorporate more data and diagrams.
There are no stylised illustrations, for example, of neurons or the role that myelin plays in the nerve fibre – and no tables reporting on or comparing the (clinically evidenced) efficacy of the various disease modifying treatments.

Second, it feels a bit partial. For example, there is no reference to cannabis, which many people with MS use to manage symptoms, and which most newly diagnosed people will hear about. A simple pros and cons section would have been useful without necessarily advocating law-breaking.

Finally, it can be irritatingly platitudinous at times. Take this from the Preface, “…the point is to let MS change you and in the process to make sure you let it change you for the better, which it will if you try and if you let it.” The next edition should exorcise this type of drivel.

Reviewed by Ian Douglas, Treasurer, UK MS Society
Reviewers write in a personal capacity

ms.about.com


ms.about.com is part of the New York Times company’s portal, about.com.

The plain language used throughout the site makes it easy to understand for non-professionals. The clear descriptions of MS, its symptoms and related matters put the reader in the picture quickly and effectively. A glossary of terms is provided but rarely required.

This site can greatly help newly-diagnosed people with MS who need straightforward, uncomplicated answers to their questions on medical and sensitive issues. Health professionals may be interested in a more scientific approach to the same issues.

The information is presented by Julie Stachowiak, PhD, who herself has MS. This gains the reader’s trust and makes the site feel like talking to a peer.

Most content is related to MS diagnostics, therapy, symptoms (including often overlooked ones), alternative treatment, and issues for families and friends. The site is easy to navigate, and information easy to find. You can view most topics as text only with one click. There are short videos about the effects of MS and about diet.

All articles are accessible for free. However, visually impaired people may want to read the text in larger type – a facility not offered on this site.

You will find the website interactive. As well as offering information to read, it encourages visitors to leave comments and discuss some issues.

Information sources like this sometimes offer nonconventional therapies for MS, and care is needed in their use.

The links to such treatments are few here and the site warns if they are not approved for use.

English is not my first language, yet I found the website content easy to follow and enjoyable to read.

Reviewed by Pavel Zlobin, Vice President, All-Russian MS Society