RealTalk MS

Welcome back to Part Two of our coverage of the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum. This week, we shift our focus to emerging therapies and clinical insights that are re-shaping the future of MS care. From the latest information on stem cell transplantation to evolving treatment strategies to the labels used to describe MS, we're breaking down the complex science into the conversations that matter most to the MS community.
 

Joining me to discuss one of the most significant presentations from the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum is Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, who opened the event with the Kenneth P. Johnson Memorial Lecture.
Dr. Cohen's lecture, "AHSCT: Current Status and Remaining Questions," tackled a topic of massive interest to both clinicians and the MS community: Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT). Often described as "resetting" the immune system, AHSCT is a complex and life-changing procedure that continues to evolve. 
In our conversation, Dr. Cohen delves deeper into his lecture, discussing transplant efficacy, the best candidates for AHSCT, the optimal time to consider AHSCT, and how people living with MS may qualify to participate in a clinical trial comparing the benefits of AHSCT with those of high-efficacy disease-modifying therapies.
Joining me for a deep dive into the future of MS care is Dr. Daniel Ontaneda. Our wide-ranging conversation explores the cutting edge of clinical practice and research, including the "early vs aggressive" treatment debate, how incorporating new imaging biomarkers will lead to faster, more reliable, and more accurate MS diagnoses, and whether the current disease classifications still serve the best interests of patient care.  
While MS research conferences like the ACTRIMS Forum are never short on world-class expert opinions and groundbreaking data, one perspective is often missing from the room: the voice of someone living with the disease.
That's why I was so glad to have Kristine Werner Ozug, a valued member of the RealTalk MS team, on the ground with me. As someone living with MS, Kristine brings a vital lens to these scientific sessions. After the final gavel fell, I sat down with her to get her "patient-first" perspective on the research that mattered most to her and what she's taking away from this year's Forum.
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

This Week: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum (Part 2)  :22
Dr. Jeffrey Cohen takes us on a deep-dive into Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (AHSCT)  1:23
Dr. Daniel Ontaneda discusses the ways that today's MS research will impact tomorrow's MS care 10:44
Kristine Werner Ozug shares her "patient-first" perspective on the research that mattered most to her and what she's taking away from the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum  28:17
Share this episode  43:31
Next week's episode  43:54

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I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts!
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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 in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com
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https://realtalkms.com/walkms

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RealTalk MS Episode 442
Guests: Dr. Jeffrey Cohen, Dr. Daniel Ontaneda, and Kristine Werner Ozug
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Last week, over 1,400 scientists and clinicians gathered in San Diego, California, at the 2026 Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis annual meeting, better known as the ACTRIMS Forum.  This week, in Part One of our coverage, you'll hear from three of the experts who presented their research at the ACTRIMS Forum.
 

Dr. Manuel Friese, a clinician-scientist at the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany, where he serves as the Director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology, and the Director of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis, is this year's winner of the Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis. I had an opportunity to talk with Dr. Friese about some of his truly remarkable research.
Dr. Amit Bar-Or, the Director of the Centre for Neuroinflammation and Experimental Therapeutics (CNET) and Chief of the Division of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and related disorders at the University of Pennsylvania, presented encouraging results from two important clinical trials. Dr. Bar-Or and I discussed what those results might mean for people living with relapsing-remitting and primary progressive MS.
Dr. Haritha Desu, a young investigator at the ACTRIMS Forum, presented her cutting-edge research on how immune cells interact with cells already resident in the brain to drive damage or potentially promote repair. I talked with Dr. Desu about how her work could be key to stopping MS progression independent of relapse activity. 
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

This Week: The 2026 ACTRIMS Forum  :22
Barancik Prize winner Dr. Manuel Friese discusses his pioneering discoveries  1:34
Dr. Amit Bar-Or shares encouraging results from two important clinical trials  16:27
Dr. Haritha Desu discusses her research  25:27
Share this episode  32:23
Next week's episode  32:42

SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS
Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/441
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION
I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (310) 526-2283
And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group!

LINKS
If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com
Support Jon at WALK MS
https://realtalkms.com/walkms

Find out about ABLEnow Accounts
https://ablenow.com

JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group
https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms
REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review
http://www.realtalkms.com/review

Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com.
RealTalk MS Episode 441
Guests: Dr. Manuel Friese, Dr. Amit Bar-Or, and Dr. Haritha Desu
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This past December, the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter to drug manufacturer Sanofi in response to Sanofi's application seeking approval for Tolebrutinib, the first in a new category of investigational disease-modifying therapies to undergo FDA review. 
 
A Complete Response Letter is an official letter from the FDA to a drug manufacturer stating that the agency can't approve a new medicine in its current form. It's not an outright "no" that kills a project; it's more like a "not yet." However, this Complete Response Letter raised some issues which, at first glance, don't appear to be easily fixable.





Sanofi has pointed out that the issues raised in the Complete Response Letter were markedly different from the guidance they received from the FDA over the course of this approval process. Sanofi has also indicated that it would work with the FDA to find a path forward for Tolebrutinib.
Dr. William Conte, an MS Specialist and a principal investigator in the Phase 3 clinical trial for Tolebrutinib, has published an article responding to the FDA's Complete Response Letter. This week, Dr. Conte joins me to discuss the FDA's action and his response to that action. 
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

This Week: We're at the 2026 ACTRIMS Forum  :22
Check out the official ACTRIMS Forum Insider podcast!  :42
The FDA's Complete Response Letter about Tolebrutinib  1:09
Dr. William Conte responds to the FDA's Complete Response Letter  4:09
Share this episode  38:10
Next week's episode  38:30

SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS
Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/440
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION
I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (310) 526-2283
And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group!

LINKS
If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com
Support Jon at WALK MS
https://realtalkms.com/walkms

Find out about ABLEnow Accounts
https://ablenow.com

JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group
https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms
REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review
http://www.realtalkms.com/review

Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com.
RealTalk MS Episode 440
Guests: Dr. William Conte
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The first coordinated global research strategy to prevent MS has been announced. This week, Dr. Bruce Bebo, the National MS Society's Executive Vice President and Chief Research & Medical Affairs Officer, joins me to explain what MS prevention looks like and how experts plan to achieve this remarkable goal.





We'll also tell you who won the 2025 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research, and we'll explain how their groundbreaking research impacts MS care.
We're sharing the details of a newly announced partnership designed to reduce delays in getting an MS diagnosis and expand access to MS care in Wisconsin.
We'll tell you how an international drug discovery network found that a drug already approved for another condition could also protect nerve cells and promote remyelination.
And we'll share research that shows that AI can accurately predict whether someone newly diagnosed with MS will experience progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) in the three years following their diagnosis.
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

I'm asking for your support:  :22
This Week: Preventing MS  1:47
Dr. Manuel Friese is the winner of the 2025 Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research  2:41
National MS Society announces a partnership to improve time to MS diagnosis and access to MS care in Wisconsin  6:26
An international drug discovery network identifies a drug that protects nerve cells and promotes remyelination  8:05
STUDY: AI accurately predicts progression independent of relapse activity in individuals who are newly diagnosed with MS  10:51
Dr. Bruce Bebo explains the strategy behind the global research initiative to prevent MS  14:48
Share this episode  31:31

SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS
Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/439
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION
I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (310) 526-2283
And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group!

LINKS
If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com
Support Jon at WALK MS
https://realtalkms.com/walkms

RealTalk MS Episode 424: I'm a Participant in a Clinical Trial for CAR T-Cell Therapy for MS with Jan Janisch-Hanzlik
https://realtalkms.com/424
STUDY: In Silico Screening and Preclinical Validation Identify Bavisant as a Therapeutic Candidate for Multiple Sclerosis
https://science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.ads0633

STUDY: Machine Learning Analysis Applied to Prediction of Early Progression Independent of Relapse Activity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ene.70417

Find out about ABLEnow Accounts
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JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group
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REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review
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Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com.
RealTalk MS Episode 439
Guests: Dr. Bruce Bebo
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One of the more confusing aspects of MS is that it can present differently from one person to the next. A research team at University College London may have uncovered a reason for that when they identified two new, and quite different, subtypes of MS. 
 





Joining me to walk us through this discovery and to explain how it may impact MS clinical care is the study's principal investigator, Dr. Arman Eshaghi.
We're also sharing study results that may explain how the Epstein-Barr Virus triggers MS in some individuals.
We'll tell you about the free online fitness and wellness programs for veterans living with MS offered by the Paralyzed Veterans of America.
And we'll explain how the latest entrant in the AI for healthcare revolution can prepare you for your next appointment with your neurologist.
We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

This Week: Discovering 2 new subtypes of MS  :22
Study results show how the Epstein-Barr Virus may trigger MS  1:20
The PVA is offering free online fitness and wellness classes for veterans with MS  5:45
Claude for Healthcare joins the AI in healthcare revolution  7:03
Dr. Arman Eshaghi discusses his team's discovery of 2 subtypes of MS  9:59
Share this episode  28:15

SHARE THIS EPISODE OF REALTALK MS
Just copy this link & paste it into your text or email: https://realtalkms.com/438
ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION
I've always thought about the RealTalk MS podcast as a conversation. And this is your opportunity to join the conversation by sharing your feedback, questions, and suggestions for topics that we can discuss in future podcast episodes. Please shoot me an email or call the RealTalk MS Listener Hotline and share your thoughts!
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (310) 526-2283
And don't forget to join us in the RealTalk MS Facebook group!

LINKS
If your podcast app doesn't allow you to click on these links, you'll find them in the show notes in the RealTalk MS app or at www.RealTalkMS.com
EBV Infection and HLA-DR15 Jointly Drive Multiple Sclerosis by Myelin Peptide Presentation
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)01495-3

STUDY: Combined Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Serum Analysis Reveals Distinct Multiple Sclerosis Types
https://academic.oup.com/brain/article/148/12/4578/8321558
PVA Offers Free Online Fitness & Wellness Classes for Vets with MS
https://pva.org/sports-recreation/online-programs

Find out about ABLEnow Accounts
https://ablenow.com

Claude for Healthcare
https://claude.com/solutions/healthcare

JOIN: The RealTalk MS Facebook Group
https://facebook.com/groups/realtalkms
REVIEW: Give RealTalk MS a rating and review
http://www.realtalkms.com/review

Follow RealTalk MS on Twitter, @RealTalkMS_jon, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, RealTalkMS.com.
RealTalk MS Episode 438
Guests: Dr. Arman Eshaghi
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