Since my posts on multiple sclerosis are getting many hits from
readers, I thought that I would in this post describe how a
definitive diagnosis of MS is made. First and foremost, a
definitive diagnosis of MS can be made just clinically without
any other imaging studies like MRI or the need for invasive
tests like lumbar puncture (spinal tap). How you may ask? Well
if by history you have had two attacks suggestive of MS which
are disseminated in time and space, then a definitive diagnosis
of MS can be made. Let me explain this in simple language. Lets
assume you go to your doctor because you have been having
numbness in your right arm. Your doctor examines you and finds
that apart from sensory loss in the right arm, you have other
examination findings such as you have ataxia (your gait is off
and unsteady), you have incoordination and tremor in your right
arm, your eyes do not move well and you have what we call
internuclear opthalmoplegia. Hmm sorry for all that medical
jargon, let me try to make it more sim