Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Diagnosis

Diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS) is very difficult in its early stages, as many other conditions produce the symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis symptoms. But an earlier multiple sclerosis diagnosis is necessary, so that a proper treatment can be taken to stop the progression of the disease. There is no definite test or multiple sclerosis diagnosis, which can confirm multiple sclerosis. The process of multiple sclerosis diagnosis involves:

Medical History

Doctor reviews a person's medical history. He observes the signs and symptoms of the disease and their pattern.

Multiple Sclerosis Neurological Tests

In neurological tests your doctor tests various parts of your nervous system, which includes muscle tone, muscle strength, reflexes, heat sensitivity, and pain sensations. This test is an examination of the function of the brain and spinal cord. Doctor may also observe your posture, balance, walking style, and ask you questions regarding your past or anything else to test your thinking capability and memory.

Multiple Sclerosis Laboratory Tests

Laboratory tests are very important for multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Laboratory tests used for multiple sclerosis diagnosis include:

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a cylinder shaped scanner that is often used during multiple sclerosis diagnosis process. It shows the areas of lesions, which are caused due to myelin loss as bright spots on the image. A substance called gadolinium is injected into the spinal cord, which highlights the active lesions that have developed within the past two or three months. This helps doctors to determine whether multiple sclerosis is in an active state, even if there are no early symptoms of multiple sclerosis. However, abnormal spots on MRI also be caused by conditions other than multiple sclerosis.

Lumbar Puncture (Spinal tap): In lumbar puncture procedure a small sample of cerebrospinal fluid is removed from your spinal column for testing it in a laboratory. This sample is tested for the levels of white blood cells, proteins and presence of oligoclonal bands. Abnormal levels of proteins or white blood cells and presence of oligoclonal bands both are associated with multiple sclerosis. Presence of oligoclonal bands alone doesn't indicate multiple sclerosis, as it may be present in other conditions also.

This procedure may give you an evidence of chronic inflammation of nervous system. Other than multiple sclerosis diagnosis, this procedure also helps to diagnose viral infections and other diseases that cause symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis.

Evoked Potential Tests: Evoked Potential Test is an electrical multiple sclerosis diagnosis process that measures the electrical signals sent by your brain in response to any activity. This procedure helps to determine whether there is slowing of messages in any part of brain and whether multiple sclerosis has affected a person's nerve pathways.

The most widely accepted Evoked Potential test that is helpful in multiple sclerosis diagnosis is Visual Evoked Potential (VIP) test. During this test an individual is allowed to sit in front of a screen and short electrical impulses are applied to his legs or arms. Decreased activity of brain during this test shows the probability of multiple sclerosis.