Home Blog Staying Cool and Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis | Dr. Barbara S. Giesser

June 18, 2021

Staying Cool and Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis | Dr. Barbara S. Giesser

by Anthony Effinger

The Think Neuro podcast from Pacific Neuroscience Institute takes you into the clinic, operating room and laboratory with doctors and surgeons who are tackling the most challenging brain diseases and disorders. Host: Anthony Effinger

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Episode 17: Show Notes

Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that arises when white blood cells make their way into the central nervous system and attack the fatty covering that protects neurons, which disrupts their ability to effectively conduct electrical and chemical signals. Many people with Multiple Sclerosis report that their symptoms get temporarily worse in the heat. This is because neurons, especially damaged ones, conduct electricity less efficiently at higher temperatures. Decades ago, before the advent of magnetic resonance imaging, doctors would diagnose multiple sclerosis by putting patients in a hot bath. If their neurologic symptoms worsened, it was taken as evidence that they had MS.

Dr. Barbara Giesser has been caring for people with MS since 1982, and she’s seen the field evolve. The disease isn’t curable, but thanks to new medications and new knowledge about lifestyle, it’s much easier to live with MS than ever. Listen to this episode of the Think Neuro podcast to hear one of the most experienced MS doctors in the world describe the mechanics of the disease and what patients can do to minimize its effects.

About Dr. Giesser

Dr. Barbara S. Giesser, FAAN, FANA, is an internationally recognized clinician and award-winning educator who has specialized in Multiple Sclerosis since 1982. She received her BS from the University of Miami, her MS from the University of Texas School of Biomedical Sciences in Houston, and her MD from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Giesser’s approach to the diagnosis & management of persons with MS combines state of the art diagnostics and a personalized medication plan for each patient with an emphasis on integrating lifestyle and wellness strategies into the neurologic treatment plan.

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Anthony Effinger

Think Neuro's host is Anthony Effinger, an award-winning journalist who is fascinated with neuroscience and the workings of the brain. Anthony spent 24 years at Bloomberg News, where he covered all aspects of finance, with forays into science and health. In 2006, the Association of Health Care Journalists awarded him first prize for Playing the Odds, an in-depth piece on the changing strategies used to treat prostate cancer. These days, he is a staff writer at Willamette Week, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper in Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Last updated: October 28th, 2025