Diagnosing multiple sclerosis; typical clinical symptoms

Cerebrospinal multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS) leading to

demyelination of nerve fibres and their subsequent loss. It is an autoimmune disease in which the target antigens are those of the nerve

fibre myelin sheath in the CNS. It mainly affects young people aged 20 to 40 years. In the Czech Republic, its prevalence is reported to be

170 patients per 100,000 population. In the past, the diagnosis of MS was established only based on the course of the disease and typical

symptoms – an attack of neurological symptoms with a gradual increase in the patient's disability. Despite major progress in science, MS

remains an incurable disease; however, with early diagnosis and sufficiently aggressive treatment, it is currently possible to significantly

reduce the disease activity and to slow the progression of the neurological deficit. Therefore, early diagnosis and early administration of drugs

are essential. This article is particularly aimed at primary care physicians to whom patients present with the initial, most often non-specific

symptoms of the disease. The individual symptoms of MS, both typical and non-specific ones, are discussed and the so-called "red flags"

are introduced the presence of which should always lead to neurological examination and to confirming or ruling out the diagnosis of MS.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, diagnosis, clinical symptoms