Therapeutic utilization of meditation resources by people with multiple sclerosis : Insights from an online patient discussion forum

We aimed to describe website traffic and qualitatively analyze an e-health community discussion forum. Participants in this study were people affected by multiple sclerosis visiting the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS) website. This mixed methods study combined descriptive analysis of website traffic over 7 years and 1 month, and qualitative analysis of 1 week of posts in the meditation topic, coded into theme groups using qualitative thematic analysis. There were 166 meditation topics posted with 21,530 initial views of primary post and 785 sub-post responses. Meditation posts and sub-posts received 368,713 replies. Number of views increased from 4,684 in 2011 to over 80,000 in 2017, a considerably greater rate of increase than overall traffic. Qualitative analysis of posts on the meditation forum identified themes of barriers and enablers to utilization of meditation resources. Enablement themes dominated, observed across six of the seven theme groups with various forms of positive social and emotional support to learn and practice meditation. One theme, negative emotion, was identified as a barrier. The OMS peer-to-peer patient online discussion forum serves important functions in encouraging, educating and enabling its growing online community. Our analysis may help improve and innovate online support for lifestyle management in many chronic diseases

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Prevalence of Comorbidities, Overweight and Obesity in an International Sample of People with Multiple Sclerosis and Associations with Modifiable Lifestyle Factors.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disorder, often affecting young people. Comorbid disorders such as depression, anxiety and hypertension are common and can affect disease course, treatment, and quality of life (QOL) of people with MS (PwMS). The associations between comorbidities, body mass index (BMI) and health outcomes are not well studied in MS, although research shows most PwMS are overweight. Most data on the prevalence of comorbidities and obesity in PwMS comes from North American populations. This study describes the prevalence of comorbidities, overweight and obesity and associations with modifiable factors in an international sample of PwMS recruited online through social media, MS societies and websites. The online survey consisted of validated and researcher-devised instruments to assess self-reported health outcomes and lifestyle behaviors. Of the 2399 respondents, 22.5% were overweight, 19.4% were obese and 67.2% reported at least one comorbidity, with back pain (36.2%), depression (31.7%), anxiety (29.1%) and arthritis (13.7%) most prevalent and most limiting in daily activities. Obesity and most comorbid disorders were significantly more prevalent in North America. Obese participants were more likely to have comorbidities, especially diabetes (OR 4.8) and high blood pressure (OR 4.5) but also depression (OR 2.2). Being overweight, obese, or a former, or current smoker was associated with an increase in the number of comorbidities; while healthy diet, physical activity (borderline significant) and moderate alcohol consumption were associated with decreased number of comorbidities. Increasing number of comorbidities was related to worse QOL, increased odds of disability and prior relapse. Obese PwMS had higher odds of disability and lower QOL. The associations between BMI, comorbidities and health outcomes are likely to be bi-directional and associated with lifestyle behaviors. Preventing and treating comorbid disorders and obesity in PwMS is warranted, and advice regarding healthy and risky lifestyle may assist in improving health outcomes

Frequency of comorbidities.

<p>Frequency of comorbidities.</p

Association of comorbidities with body mass index.

<p>Association of comorbidities with body mass index.</p

Comorbidity and BMI according to region.

<p>Comorbidity and BMI according to region.</p

Associative conceptual model.

<p>Associative conceptual model.</p

Health related quality of life regression model.

<p>Health related quality of life regression model.</p

Associations between modifiable lifestyle factors and number of comorbidities,

<p>Associations between modifiable lifestyle factors and number of comorbidities,</p