McDonald Criteria Revisions Signal Shift Toward MS as a Biologically Based Disease

[BettysMom]

An upcoming revised version of the McDonald diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) will include new MS biomarkers, a panel of experts said.

medpagetoday.com/meetingcov...

[Humbrd]

That's an interesting article. From what I read they are now going to be able to diagnose MS without visible symptoms. Which is good because then someone can be diagnosed and start dmts earlier.

[Cwright170994]

I got a CIS diagnosis because I started having simple partial temporal lobe seizures, back in 2014. I'm thankful I had a seizure as a triage nurse was doing a pupil reaction test when I went to A&E one morning. My mum had looked up my symptoms on the NHS Symptom Checker website (now called 111) one morning. That brought up "transient ischemic attack, get to A&E!" I got referred to my 1st neuro because of that, after begging my GP for a good 6 months to refer me to a neurologist.Now, this neuro had me to an evoked potential test, which showed something slowing down the signals from my left eye to the occipital lobe. That got me my 1st MRI, and the findings were obviously significant enough to have me admitted to hospital for a lumbar puncture and bloods. I was started on lamotrigine on that hospital stay, and when I went to my GP to get some more, the GP was very embarrassed with the fact he was wrong! He shouldn't have put me down as having panic attacks! However, Sept 2014 came around, had the appointment with the neuro who showed me my MRI images, and diagnosed me with epilepsy and the COS diagnosis.

Then, a year later with different GPs, I couldn't walk properly. They told me I had a euscation tube blockage, so they told me to do other stuff, rather than telling my neuro. It wasn't until I couldn't feel the left side of my face and my 2nd MRI before I got my clinically definite diagnosis, and started in copaxone.

I know my mum had an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), but that was due to Graves Disease and an enlargement of her parathyroids because of that disease. That may be because of genetic stuff, but I know that, the same year-ish I got my clinically definite diagnosis, my sister had some sort of a symptom that could have been MS. She'd gone to her GPs (again, different from our 1st), told them that she has a sister with MS, and I'd told her to get an MRI. Thank God she doesn't have any abnormalities on the MRI, and her symptom soon went away.

[goatgal]

Interesting going forward. for those in limbo. Looking backward, it might have led to a diagnosis of MS at age 50 rather than 20 years later.

[AquaZumbaFan]

Wow! This is a great article!! Maybe life-changing for people to get an early diagnosis and treatment. Thank you for sharing.

[Raingrrl]

Thanks for posting this! My understanding from my neuro is the new criteria is also intended to cut down on the high rate of misdiagnosis.