MS Society

A huge good luck to Kadeena Cox and Ali Smith, who will be competing in the Paralympics! 🧡 Kadeena and Ali are both living with MS. Kadeena will be competing in the Para athletics T38, the individual Cycling C4-5 500m time trial and the mixed team sprint. Ali will be competing in the Para athletics T38 100m, 400m and 4x100m relay. We’ll be cheering you both on all the way! 🏅 📸 paralympics.org.uk

Last week, we announced our new corporate partner – Friendly Shoes. 👢 Friendly Shoes is a fully adaptive footwear brand for adults and children – and they also offer a discount for the MS community. 🔗 Read more and use code FRIENDLYMSSOC to get 10% off: https://mssoc.uk/4dj4DP9

If you work in research and want to learn about the tools and techniques for analysing big healthcare data then join the UK MS Register for our next Data Academy! Dates: 21st & 22nd November 2024 Location: MS Society offices, London Fee: £50 covering two days of teaching including refreshments Register your interest: https://mssoc.uk/3Me3fBy

“When MS properly took hold, one of the worst things for me to adjust to was the footwear.” (Jane Felstead, living with MS and Mummy Felstead, Made in Chelsea). And then Jane found Friendly Shoes, the UK’s first fully adaptive footwear brand for adults and children – and our new corporate partner! 👟 Finding the right footwear can make a huge difference. If you can relate to Jane’s experience – you can find out more about Friendly Shoes here: https://mssoc.uk/4dj4DP9

ℹ️ We've updated our information on mpox (the new name for monkeypox). August has seen #Mpox back in the headlines. We look at what it means for people with multiple sclerosis and answer some of the questions you might have.👇 Find out more about mpox and MS: https://mssoc.uk/3yCM2P7

Can AI be used to support people living with MS? 💻 At our biennial conference, MS Frontiers, researchers were brought together to debate whether AI is ready to personalise care for people with MS. We heard from Dr Kate Petheram, a consultant neurologist at Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. Kate described several areas where AI is already primed to personalise care for people with MS. One example is diagnosis. There has already been a huge amount of research into using AI to diagnose MS from MRI scans. Read more about MS and AI: https://mssoc.uk/3SVhzTd

We are thrilled to announce Laurence and Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen as our new MS Society Ambassadors! 🎉 Both Laurence and Jackie’s mothers lived with MS and they have been supporters of our work for many years. On being appointed MS Society Ambassadors, Jackie said: “It’s an honour for us to become MS Society Ambassadors and we look forward to continuing to raise awareness of a condition that is so close to our hearts.” Nick Moberly, our Chief Executive said: “It’s great to have Laurence and Jackie as our new Ambassadors. They both have a very personal connection to MS and have helped us raise awareness of the condition for many years. We’re so thankful for their continued support.” 🔗 Read more about Laurence and Jackie becoming our newest Ambassadors: https://mssoc.uk/46QFVDo

Thank you to everyone who signed and shared our open letter! Today, we handed it in to 10 Downing Street and now, we'll wait for a response from the government. Handing in our open letter is only the beginning of our work to lobby the new government for positive change for people with MS. We know people with MS deserve better and we'll continue to campaign for the changes the MS community needs. Find out more about our campaigning work: https://mssoc.uk/4cpE21z

Nearly 200 MS researchers attended our biennial conference MS Frontiers, including over 80 early career researchers, to share the latest advancements in MS Research. 🔬 Professor Maria Pia Amato, our plenary speaker said: “One of the most engaging moments of MS Frontiers for me was the awards ceremony for the work presented by early career researchers. I saw myself in their enthusiasm and emotion; they represent the future of research and the hope for patients.” We caught up with six PhD students to hear more about their work. 💻 Read our blog post for more information on MS Frontiers 2024: https://mssoc.uk/4fV22ga #MSFrontiers #MSResearch

Have you signed our open letter yet? We need the government to know: people with MS deserve better! That's why we're calling on Keir Starmer as Prime Minister to commit to make change for people with MS. It's your last chance to sign and share our open letter before we deliver it to 10 Downing Street on Thursday 15 August. Sign our open letter today: https://mssoc.uk/4acNJiE