Leading UK charity say diagnosing MS to become quicker, easier, and more accurate
The diagnostic guidelines have been updated to support healthcare professionals to diagnose MS sooner
Diagnosing one of the most common neurological conditions in the UK will become faster, thanks to new international guidelines published today.
Over 150,000 people live with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the UK. It is a progressive condition affecting the brain and spinal cord, causing a range of symptoms like blurred vision and problems with how we move, think and feel. But prompt diagnosis allows people to start treatment sooner, which can help to slow down disease progression and prevent disability.
MS affects everyone differently so, for many people, getting a diagnosis can take years. It can involve a lengthy process of tests like MRIs and multiple appointments with specialists, leaving patients without answers or access to crucial disease modifying treatments (DMT) for long periods of time.
But today, the diagnostic guidelines have been updated to support healthcare professionals to diagnose MS sooner. The revised criteria aim to make diagnosis faster and more accurate, reduce the risk of misdiagnosis, and help many people with MS to access treatment earlier.
The changes include:
- A patient could now be diagnosed after just one relapse or lesion on an MRI. Previously, a patient would have needed to experience new MS attacks or relapses, or have new lesions on their MRI scans, at different points over time.
- Neurologists can now take a lesion in the optic nerve into consideration when diagnosing MS. Previously, doctors would only look for lesions in the brain and spinal cord – but problems with vision can be a common symptom of MS.
- To improve accuracy, neurologists can now use different visual markers on MRI results, which can help them distinguish between MS and other conditions.
- Radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) can now be diagnosed as MS in some situations. RIS is when someone has some lesions on an MRI that look like MS, but they don’t currently experience any symptoms.
Millie Kelly, 36, lives in Manchester and works in healthcare advertising. She was finally diagnosed with relapsing MS in May this year, after experiencing significant vision problems and ending up in A&E in May 2024. But Millie had been facing other symptoms for years, like electric shocks down her back and changes in sensation in her legs.
She says: “Doctors think that I had MS for around 10 years before my diagnosis. I’d been to my GP multiple times, and eventually ended up in A&E as my symptoms had got so bad. But even after that it took another year for me to be formally diagnosed. Waiting so long to get the diagnosis was agonising and terrifying. I had to take a month off work.
“In my career I’ve worked on MS drugs in the past, so I was very aware of the range of treatments available. And I knew that the quicker I got onto a DMT the better. I was anxious to start one immediately, but I couldn’t without a diagnosis. It was so frustrating. Everything was so drawn out and the added stress really didn’t help my MS. I finally started a DMT called Copaxone this summer, which has been a relief. And I’m so glad that diagnosis will be sped up for many people in the future, so they won’t have to go through what I went through.”
The McDonald Criteria are a set of guidelines used around the world to help neurologists assess whether someone has MS. They were last updated in 2017, but since then, research has improved the understanding of how MS shows up on MRI scans. Researchers also have new insights into biological markers of MS and more evidence on how MS symptoms develop over time.
Dr Emma Gray, Director of Research at the MS Society, says: “Living with MS can be debilitating, exhausting and unpredictable. And all too often, getting an MS diagnosis is a lengthy, arduous process. But research tells us that starting treatment quickly is key to reducing disability in the long term. So we’re thrilled that, from today, neurologists will have additional ways to diagnose MS and speed up the process.
“While this is great news, the NHS is clearly under significant strain, with long waiting lists for appointments and diagnostic tests. This means people from across the country will still face delays before getting the answers and treatments they need. We will continue to fight to ensure that people get a diagnosis as soon as possible.”