The world is grappling to slow the spread of COVID-19 and learn how best to treat it. Since the disease affects some people more severely than others, it’s possible the best treatment will be different for different individuals or populations.
With that in mind, the professionals who treat multiple sclerosis (MS) are working to study how the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) affects people with MS. That information could help them determine how best to protect people with MS from getting COVID-19 — by administering or withholding certain disease-modifying therapies, for example — and what sort of treatments people with MS need if they get infected.
Two initiatives to collect information on how COVID-19 has affected people with MS thus far are already underway.
iConquerMS Launches COVID-19 Survey
I was recently made aware of iConquerMS's new online research about COVID-19 and MS, for example.
The survey took me about 15 minutes (and what else was I going to do with that time while self-isolating?) and was easy to fill out. I did have to register as a member first, but that was simple and free, and you can opt out of receiving emails if you like to keep your inbox clean.
The questions had to do with my MS as well as my knowledge of COVID-19. Also included were my understanding of cases of the virus in my community and my level of anxiety about living with MS in these times.
It was easy, I felt it worth my time, and I also felt like I was giving back to the body of knowledge — a well from which I have dipped my cup innumerable times over these past 19 years.
RELATED: Is COVID-19 Anxiety Messing With Your Sleep?
How to Fill Out the iConquerMS Survey
Interested in filling out the survey?
If you're not already an iConquerMS member, go to www.iConquerMS.org, click “Join Now,” and provide your email address.
You will receive an email from iConquerMS. Click the link to return to iConquerMS.org to set up your password and complete a brief profile.
Click on “COVID-19 Survey” in the list of surveys. Read and accept the consent, then complete the survey.
If you are already a member, visit your dashboard (you'll be prompted to log in first) to complete the COVID-19 survey.
COVID-MS Seeks Input From Medical Professionals
Another recently set up site, COVID-MS (COVID-19 Infections in MS and Related Diseases) is a collaboration by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, and is designed for medical professionals to report cases of COVID-19 in people with MS and a range of other demyelinating neurologic diseases, such as neuromyelitis optica.
If you or a family member who has MS gets COVID-19, make sure your MS specialist is aware of this website, as important information can be recorded to help others in similar situations.
It’s important to remember that on average, only about 20 percent of people who become infected have severe symptoms. Whether or not people with MS have a predisposition to becoming severely ill as well as the effect of such factors as age, medical conditions besides MS, and MS treatments on COVID-19 outcomes are just some of what researchers hope to learn from these sites.
It’s One Way to Be Active in Fighting the Pandemic
I suspect there will be other avenues of research opening in the near future, but these two reputable sites are already up and running. So if you care to share a bit of your information and knowledge, it’s a way to be active in the MS fight against COVID-19.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers,
Trevis
