MS diagnosis

This week we are going to discuss diagnosis of MS. It is extremely difficult to diagnose multiple sclerosis. An individual needs to meet many criteria and they may go years having the disease without the official diagnosis. Here are some tests that are used to diagnose the disease, when a patient tests positive for many of them, they might receive the diagnosis of MS.

MRI: Because an MRI is a particularly useful tool in detecting central nervous system damage and demyelenation, it is a powerful tool in helping to establish an MS diagnosis. However, approximately 5 percent of people with clinically definite MS (someone who tests (+) for enough tests to receive a diagnosis) do not initially show lesions on MRI at the time. If repeat MRIs continue to show no lesions, the diagnosis of MS should be questioned.

Spinal Tap: A small amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be taken from the spinal column. The presence of oligoclonal bands (a certain type of antibody) is consistent with 90% of the population with MS. However, just because a personal has oligoclonal bands present does not necessarily mean they have MS!

Optical Coherence tomography: A relatively new diagnosis tool for MS is OCT. It is an imaging device that allows retinal structures (like the optic nerve) at the back of the eye to be viewed. OCT studies have shown that the retinal nerve fiber layer is different in people with MS than in people without MS.

 Blood Tests: There are still no blood test to diagnose MS, however blood tests are used in an MS patient to rule out other disorders. Lyme disease, HIV, rare genetic disorders, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma can all be ruled out using blood tests.

There basic rules that are applied when diagnosing MS are...

•  Rule out all other diagnosis AND
• Finding evidence of damage in at least two separate areas of the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves AND
• Find evidence that the damage occurred at two different points in time

Hence...MULTIPLE sclerosis

Diagnosis is essential for early treatment of MS. Permanent neurological damage can occur even in the early stages of the disease, so therefore early detection is crucial.

Diagnosis also gives people an answer to why they are feeling so much discomfort. Getting the diagnosis allows them to begin the adjustment process and relieves them of worries about other diseases such as cancer.

To get more information on MS read this article posted in the SAGE journal.
http://msj.sagepub.com/content/14/9/1157.full.pdf+html

Until next time!

Works:
http://msj.sagepub.com/content/14/9/1157.full.pdf+html
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-20836082
http://www.msfocus.org/diagnose-multiple-sclerosis.aspx
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/multiple-sclerosis/basics/symptoms/CON-20026689
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Symptoms-Diagnosis/MS-Symptoms