Could wider social networks prevent disability in MS and other neurologic disorders

Social isolation has become our constant companion in recent months. The quantitatively minded may wonder how, beyond economic benchmarks like unemployment rates, we might measure the changes in our social environments and, in turn, evaluate the downstream effects of these changes on our cognitive and physical health. In fact, predating the coronavirus pandemic by decades, the science of social networks seeks to quantify the connectivity—and constraint—of interpersonal relationships and their association with medical outcomes. As we entertain, cajole, bore, and support each other in our socially distanced small groups, the realities of “tightly bound” social networks have hit home.