Multiple sclerosis is the most common disabling neurological disease among young adults. It's a disease in which the body's immune system begins attacking the protective covering around nerve cells, leading to a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from vision problems to difficulty walking fatigue to dizziness to speech problems. Our guest on this episode, neurologist Stephen Hauser, MD, has led research that has been key to developing our understanding of this disease, and his work has resulted in treatments that have helped hundreds of thousands of people. Dr. Hauser is a director of the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco, and the author of the memoir The Face Laughs While the Brain Cries: the Education of a Doctor. Over the course of our conversation, we discuss not only his groundbreaking scientific work, but also reflect on how clinicians can help patients heal even when there are no medical therapies available, as well as how neurological disorders affect our sense of personhood and meaning in life.

In this episode, we discuss:

2:07 - The childhood experiences that drew Dr. Hauser to a career in medicine, and specifically to neurology 

8:15 - The ways in which practicing medicine was “simpler” 50 years ago

9:53 - Why Dr. Hauser chose to focus his career on multiple sclerosis 

13:58 - Advancements in multiple sclerosis treatment over the course of Dr. Hauser’s career

15:37 - The importance of developing deep relationships with patients, even when curative treatments don’t yet exist

19:45 - The unique challenge that arises when neurological diseases affect a person’s central identity 

25:49 - The enduring power of love that transcends the loss of a patient’s cognitive identity 

31:50 - The biggest lessons that Dr. Hauser have learned from his courageous patients

35:10 - Dr. Hauser’s perspective on “failure” when treating patients 

39:30 - Dr. Hauser’s hopes for the next generation of doctor scientists 

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