Diagnosing MS

Detecting Multiple Sclerosis can be difficult. It is often several years from first symptoms to certain diagnosis, because:

Diagnosing MS can be difficult - early symptoms are often so slight that the person doesn't go to a doctor

- other diseases of the central nervous system have some of the same warning signs as MS

- no laboratory test is available to definitely confirm MS (although Magnetic Resonance Imaging scans of the brain and spinal cord usually show characteristic changes, and electrical tests and spinal fluid examination may give helpful information

Doctors look for two things before confirming MS:

1. Signs of Nervous System Damage

Numbness or tingling of hands and feet, unexplained weakness or paralysis, etc., may occur. Two or more parts of the central nervous system must be involved.

2. Come-and-Go Pattern (relapses and remissions)

Symptoms of MS usually appear and disappear unpredictably.

Treating MS

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