diagnosis

More than half of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients in a small study had active inflammatory brain lesions during a relapse, even when relapse symptoms occurred outside the brain, in areas including the spinal cord or optic nerve, researchers in Spain reported. Less than half of the patients with…

The 11 active tests of the dreaMS smartphone app — which evaluates functional domains affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) — enabled reliable and remote measurement of neurologic functions and were perceived as meaningful among MS patients, a small trial shows. Data collected through the app could offer a…

Combining blood and imaging biomarkers might help clinicians better predict cognitive impairment in people with early multiple sclerosis (MS) than using either one alone, a new study suggests. Researchers found that using the two together worked better to predict information processing speed than did either blood or MRI biomarkers…

People with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) have more microscopic damage in normal-appearing brain tissue than do patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), according to a new imaging study. These patients also have a greater number of chronic active lesions than those with RRMS. “Using advanced diffusion MRI…

Epstein-Barr Virus and MS Risk: New Link to Mono Found in Study Add this study to the mounting evidence that there’s some type of association between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) — the virus associated with mononucleosis — and multiple sclerosis. I’ve never had mono, but several people with…

It’s been a year and a half since I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). I still have use of my limbs and am able to walk, albeit shakily, without a walker. My eyesight has not been affected, I drive, and am able to carry on a…

Early Detection of Pseudobulbar Affect May Help Ease MS Symptom I often see posts on social media from people with MS asking if crying for no reason is an MS symptom, because it happens to them. I didn’t know that apparently, it is. Laughing, too. This report says…

A machine learning approach based on eye scans was employed by researchers to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) in children with up to 80% accuracy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans also provided enough data to diagnose other demyelinating diseases with 75% accuracy. OCT is an imaging tool that uses…

Researchers have identified early factors that can affect the trajectory of a patient’s long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. These factors include older age, worse physical impairment, and more severe fatigue at diagnosis, which were predictive of worse long-term physical HRQoL. In addition,…

The first symptoms of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) have been appearing increasingly later in life, according to a Spanish study covering nearly five decades. From the 1970s through the 2010s, the average age at disease onset rose by more than 10 years in both men and women, its researchers…

In this installment of our “Expert Voices” series, Multiple Sclerosis News Today asked Tanuja Chitnis, MD, to answer some of your questions about pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS). Chitnis is a board-certified neurologist specializing in multiple sclerosis-related neuroimmunological disorders. Chitnis’s interest in children with MS led her to create…

After a relapse involving optic neuritis, or inflammation in the nerves connecting the eyes and brain, measurements of retinal thinning may predict the likelihood of full recovery from future relapses in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a study suggests. The measurement could identify subclinical nerve cell damage that remains…

A team of researchers has created a three-dimensional (3D) map of the lymphatic vessels that drain the brain, and demonstrated that these vessels are organized similarly in mice and in humans. The researchers propose measuring these vessels using MRI scans could “allow longitudinal imaging of disease progression that may be…

If I were a superhero (or a supervillain, for that matter), I’d have an origin story. As it stands, I’m not even a minor hero in real life, and only a mediocre one when appearing in my own stories. I’m just a guy with multiple sclerosis, and all I…

When Sarah Garcia was diagnosed with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 13, she didn’t know any other young Latino women with the neurodegenerative disorder. Garcia grew up in a tight-knit Hispanic community in Socorro, Texas, near El Paso. Most of her doctors were white,…

The other night I dreamed I was standing in a military formation when my leg began to twitch with an MS spasm. I couldn’t stay in line. The top sergeant yelled while the other soldiers laughed. Suddenly, the scene shifted to a balance beam, where I desperately tried to…

A new machine learning strategy was able to differentiate tremor specific to multiple sclerosis (MS) from tremor related to other diseases, with more than 90% accuracy, according to a new study. “The proposed method, with high classification accuracy and strong correlations of [tremor] features to clinical outcomes, has clearly…

Labcorp has launched a widely accessible test that measures the levels of neurofilament light chain (NfL), a biomarker of nerve damage, to screen for signs of neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The test is performed on a standard blood sample taken at a hospital, at the…

The presence of iron rim lesions (IRLs), which are regions of chronic nervous system damage with ongoing inflammation, visible on MRI scans, is linked with more substantial disability in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a new study. However, the connection between these lesions and worse disability does not…

On Feb. 28, 2021, my wife and I visited the MS clinic where I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). After receiving this life-changing news, I was an emotional wreck. While touring the clinic, I saw a person in a wheelchair go into an exam room.

Some prodromal symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) — symptoms that are evident before the disease begins in earnest — could help to predict the course of MS, a new study proposes. In particular, its researchers suggest that MS patients with prodromal depression are more likely to be diagnosed…

Levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid, the liquid around the brain and spinal cord, may help predict the risk of relapse activity for individuals with early multiple sclerosis (MS), a new study found. High levels of three such proteins were predictive of a greater risk of…

An MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can be used to accurately identify remyelinated brain lesions in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), a research team has discovered. Remyelinated lesions are those in which the myelin sheath — the protective coating around nerve fibers that is progressively lost…

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in England has updated its guidelines for the diagnosis and management of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Called Multiple sclerosis in adults: management, the new guidelines update and replace the 2014 recommendations and are meant to be followed by…

When I turned 50 in 2013, I blew out the candles, and bam! I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I started seeing an endocrinologist and a neurologist, taking daily diabetic medications, and testing my blood sugar every day. At that point, I was not physically disabled in any…

A blood biomarker test developed by Octave can effectively monitor overall disease activity in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), helping to improve the care being given, the company reported. The assay, dubbed the MS Disease Activity (MSDA) test, can also be used to monitor disease activity across…

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have lesions in three regions of the brain — the anterior temporal horn, periventricular region, and cerebellar hemisphere — compared with people with other inflammatory brain diseases, a study reports. Looking for lesions in these parts of the brain may…

Many people newly diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) experience substantial “hidden disabilities,” such as depression or fatigue, a study highlights. Findings indicate that treatment with disease-modifying therapies generally does not affect the severity of these problems, at least in the short term. “Considering the substantial impact that hidden…

Breast cancer is less likely to be detected through a routine cancer screening for women with multiple sclerosis (MS), while colorectal cancer is more likely to be detected at an early stage in MS patients compared with those without the disease, a Canadian study found. “Understanding the pathways to earlier…

Rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) were similar among Black and white people, but significantly lower in Hispanics and Asians living in southern California, a study found. These findings contrast with previous studies that have long reported lower MS rates among Black people compared to white people. Those discrepancies might…