If you've spent any time at all living with or caring for someone with multiple sclerosis, you know that medical textbooks and information-filled websites can give us facts, figures, and symptoms, but they rarely capture the sometimes messy, sometimes overwhelming, and sometimes darkly funny reality of what it actually feels like to get a diagnosis of MS and realize your life has suddenly shifted under your feet.

Our guest, Liat Shalom, was diagnosed with MS in 2021, at the age of 30. Instead of letting that diagnosis define her, Liat picked up her pen and created Unravelled—a groundbreaking graphic memoir that refuses to sugar-coat the MS experience.

For about five years, we've known that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) triggers MS. We'll explain what biologists just discovered about how EBV triggers MS, and what that could mean for future treatments.

We're sharing evidence from an important study that shows a simple blood test is as accurate as MRI in determining whether someone is experiencing a relapse or a pseudo-relapse.

We're sharing details of a study showing that virtual reality (VR) therapy is effective in treating MS-related brain fog.

And if you're a woman between the ages of 45 and 60 and you're experiencing perimenopause, we'll share an easy way for you to participate in MS research without leaving home.

We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

This Week: Unravalled, Liat Shalom's darkly humorous graphic novel about her MS journey :22

Scientists discover how the Epstein-Barr virus triggers MS 1:53

A simple blood test can determine whether someone is experiencing a relapse or a pseudo-relapse 4:08

It's time to support the National MS Society's $119.6 million active investment in MS research 6:58

Virtual reality therapy can improve MS-related brain fog 9:16

An opportunity to participate in MS research for women between 45-60 who are experiencing perimenopause 11:41

Liat Shalom discusses her journey to an MS diagnosis that led her to create Unravalled, a darkly humorous graphic memoir 13:11

Share this episode 30:32

Next week 30:52

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LINKS

If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes at www.RealTalkMS.com

Unravelled: The Story of an MS Warrior by Liat Shalom https://unraveledgraphicnovel.com

STUDY: CD4+ T-Cells Reactive to Epstein-Barr Virus Late Lytic Antigens are Enriched in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adz6566

STUDY: Utility of Multi-Analyte Protein Assay to Distinguish Multiple Sclerosis Clinical Relapse from Pseudoexacerbation https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40120-026-00984-2

STUDY: Effectiveness of Immersive and Non-Immersive Virtual Reality Interventions on Cognitive Function in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/12/4534

PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH: Perimenopause and Multiple Sclerosis https://www.nationalmssociety.org/news-and-magazine/news/ms-study-alert-perimenopause-survey

STUDY: Effectiveness of Immersive and Non-Immersive Virtual Reality Interventions on Cognitive Function in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/12/4534

SUPPORT: National MS Society Research https://nationalmssociety.org/research

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RealTalk MS Episode 464 Guest: Liat Shalom

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