Overview
The goal of the multidisciplinary team at the Cleveland Clinic Mellen Center in Cleveland and the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas is to enhance health and wellness in multiple sclerosis through clinical care, education, and research. Dr. Rensel piloted individual wellness consultations in 2007, adding shared medical appointments with experiential wellness activities for patients with multiple sclerosis in 2016. In addition, she has received educational grants to support the Mellen Center MS wellness shared medical appointments. Individual wellness consultations with an were started at the Mellen Center in 2017.
Dr. Hersh leads the MS Health and Wellness Program at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. She conducts one-on-one visits with patients, individualizing wellness care with a collaborative and multidisciplinary focus. She secured grant support in 2017, 2018 and 2020 for a Health and Wellness Education Series with an interdisciplinary team of neuro-rehabilitation specialists, a social worker, a dietitian, a yoga master, and an executive chef to highlight the physical and emotional benefits of healthy living with MS.
Drs. Hersh and Rensel have grant funding to evaluate wellness and patient-reported outcomes in MS patients who participate in the MS Health and Wellness Program. They have recently published manuscripts and book chapters, and Dr. Hersh has edited a book on the many updated topics of MS including wellbeing and brain reserve. They have worked together with patient advocacy groups for national level video educational materials regarding strategies for MS wellbeing. They both present nationally to patient groups and academic centers to raise awareness of impact of wellbeing while living with MS.
Contact Information
Mary R Rensel, MD
renselm@ccf.org
Funding Sources
Genzyme, Wellness shared medical appointments for MS patients, Rensel (PI), 07/2016 – present
Genentech, Wellness intervention program and MS outcomes study, Hersh (PI), one-year grant
Publications
The current approach to managing MS. Women’s Health in Primary Care. Rensel M, Cohen J 2000;3(6):417-31.
Effects of meditation on pain and quality of life in multiple sclerosis and peripheral neuropathy: a pilot study. Tavee J, Rensel M, Planchon SM, Butler RS, Stone L. Int J MS Care. 2011 Winter;13(4):163-8. doi: 10.7224/1537-2073-13.4.163. PMID: 24453721
Biofeedback in coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Baumann M, Frank DL, Liebenstein M, Kiffer J, Pozuelo L, Cho L, Blackburn G, Bethoux F, Rensel M, Hatipoglu B, Young J, Moravec CS, McKee MG. Cleve Clin J Med 2011;78(Suppl 1):S80. PMID:
General Health and Wellness in MS. In Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. Clinical Guide to Diagnosis, medical management, and rehabilitation. Rae-Grant A, Fox, R and Bethoux F (eds), pp235-242, 2013.
Wellness and the role of comorbidities in multiple sclerosis. Moss, BP, Rensel MR, Hersh CM. Neurotherapeutics 2017;14(4):999-1017. doi: 10.1007/s13311-017-0563-6. PMID: 28785958.
Yeh, E.A., Grover, S.A., Powell, V.E., Alper, G., Banwell, B.L., Edwards, K., Gorman, M., Graves, J., Lotze, T.E., Mah, J.K., Mednick, L., Ness, J., Obadia, M., Slater, R., Waldman, A., Waubant, E., Schwartz, C.E., Pediatric MS Adherence Study Group, 2018. Correction to: Impact of an electronic monitoring device and behavioral feedback on adherence to multiple sclerosis therapies in youth: results of a randomized trial. Qual Life Res 27, 1117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-017-1773-4 (team contributor)
BE Davis, L Lakin, CC Binns, KM Currie, MR Rensel Patient and Provider Insights into the Impact of Multiple Sclerosis on Mental Health: A Narrative Review ,Neurology and Therapy, 20 Apr 2021, 10(1):99-119
Lynsey Lakin, Bryan E Davis, Cherie C Binns, Keisha M Currie, Mary R Rensel Comprehensive Approach to Management of Multiple Sclerosis: Addressing Invisible Symptoms—A Narrative Review. Neurol Ther 10, 75–98 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40120-021-00239-2
Justin R. Abbatemarco, Jeffrey A. Cohen, Belinda L. Udeh, Sunakshi Bassi, Mary R. Rensel; Multiple Sclerosis Wellness Shared Medical Appointment Model: A Pilot Study. Int J MS Care 2021; doi: https://doi.org/10.7224/1537-2073.2020-044
Invited, Non-Peer Reviewed
Rensel MR and Moodley M, Multidisciplinary Approach to Improve Care for Pediatric MS, Neuroscience pathways, fall, 2006.
BP Moss, MR Rensel, CM Hersh.Wellness and the role of comorbidities in multiple sclerosis
Neurotherapeutics 14 (4), 999-1017
Mary R. Rensel, Wellness Journey with Multiple Sclerosis – Where to Start US Neurology. 2018;14(1):31-33 DOI:
Book & Book Chapters
"The differential diagnosis of MS and clues to Misdiagnosis"
Cohen JA and Rensel MR, Multiple Sclerosis; Diagnosis, Medical Management, and Rehabilitation
Burks, JS and Johnson KP, 127-138. 2000
"General Health and Wellness in MS"
Rensel M
Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Rae Grant A, Fox, R and Bethoux F, 235-242, 2013
"General Health and Wellness in MS"
Rensel M, Hersh C Moss B
Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
Rae Grant A, Fox, R and Bethoux F, 235-252, 2018
"Health, Wellness and the Effects of Comorbidities on the Multiple Sclerosis Disease Course; Tackling the Modifiable"
Devon Conway, Amy B. Sullivan and Mary R Rensel
Multiple Sclerosis, Neurologic Clinics
Randolph E Evans and Carrie M Hersh
Members & Collaborations
Cleveland Clinic Affiliations - Mellen Center and Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
- Malissa Ayers, PA-C
- Francois Bethoux, MD
- Claire Hara-Cleaver, CNP
- Carrie Hersh, DO MSc
- Randy Karim, DPT Clinical Rehab Specialist
- Jason Longhurst, PT DPT, Physical Therapist
- Trevor Mahoney, PT DPT, Physical Therapist
- Shaina Meyer, OT, Occupational Therapist
- Jennifer Nash, PT DPT, Clinical Rehab Manager
- Mary R Rensel, MD
- Christine Ross, PT DPT, Physical Therapist
- Darlene Stough, RN, Coord Research Nurse
- Matt Sutliff, DPT, Clinical Team Leader
Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute
- Judy Barr
- Jane Ehrman, Lifestyle Medicine
- MLadin Galubic, MD
- Kristen Kirkpatrick, RD
- Jim Perko, Admin Executive Chef, Culinary Medicine
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
- Sonu Bassi- Student researcher
External Relationships and Collaborations
- Laura Kruskall, PhD – University Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
- Jennifer Graves, MD PhD – University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
- Chef Wesley Holton – Executive Chef, Aria Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV
