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Updates to the McDonald criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), first introduced in 2010, should allow initiation of therapy earlier in the time point of disease. The changes expand some of the criteria that can be used for diagnosis of disease.
The McDonald criteria should be applied primarily to patients with a typical clinically isolated syndrome – that is, in whom the probability of MS is high. They are best applied to patients 11 years or older, according to first author Alan J. Thompson, MD, and his colleagues on the International Panel on Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Their update to the 2010 criteria was published online Dec. 21, 2017, in The Lancet Neurology.
The changes include:
• Cerebrospinal fluid-specific oligoclonal bands can now be used to diagnose MS in patients with a typical clinically isolated syndrome in whom MRI or clinical signs point to dissemination in space (DIS), and if there is no other, better explanation for clinical signs.
• Symptomatic or asymptomatic MRI lesions can be used in the determination of DIS or dissemination in time (DIT). An exception is MRI lesions in the optic nerve in patients with optic neuritis, due to insufficient evidence. Specifically, the panel notes that DIS “can be demonstrated by one or more T2-hyperintense lesions [symptomatic or asymptomatic] that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis in two or more of four areas of the CNS: periventricular, cortical or juxtacortical, and infratentorial brain regions, and the spinal cord.” DIT is defined by “the simultaneous presence of gadolinium-enhancing and non-enhancing lesions [symptomatic or asymptomatic] at any time or by a new T2-hyperintense or gadolinium-enhancing lesion on follow-up MRI, with reference to a baseline scan, irrespective of the timing of the baseline MRI.”
• In patients experiencing brainstem or spinal cord clinically isolated syndrome, symptomatic lesions are sufficient to determine DIS or DIT.
• Cortical or juxtacortical lesions can be used in determining DIS.
• When MS is diagnosed, physicians should determine disease course (relapsing-remitting, primary progressive, or secondary progressive), whether the disease is active or not, and whether it is progressive, using the clinical history over the previous year.
The update was driven by a range of factors, including ongoing developments in imaging, the performance of the 2010 guidelines in diverse populations, and potential confusion between MS and other conditions with similar imaging characteristics, such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, which should always be considered because symptoms can overlap with MS. These conditions demand different treatment protocols. In addition, in 2016, the European Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis (MAGNIMS) network suggested changes to the MRI criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis.
Updates to the guidelines are hardly finished. The panel called for future examination of optic nerve involvement, diverse populations, advanced imaging techniques, and biomarkers.
Some of the panel members reported financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
SOURCE: Thompson A et al., Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec 21. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30470-2
Earlier diagnosis and treatment initiation is increasingly important to prevent long-term disability. In recent years, MRI has become a more powerful diagnostic tool. These guidelines present useful improvements, but challenges remain. Due to a lack of data, it is not clear how well the McDonald criteria perform in nonwhite and non-Western populations, as well as in patients with atypical presentation of a clinically isolated syndrome. The guidelines also offer little help in the treatment of asymptomatic patients with radiologically isolated syndromes who eventually develop dissemination in time or space as determined by MRI findings.
Careful application of the new criteria should reduce misdiagnosis between MS and migraine, fibromyalgia, psychiatric disorders, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, but vigilance is required and clinicians should keep an open mind regarding alternative diagnoses.
Stephen Hauser, MD, and Riley Bove, MD, are with the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hauser serves on the board of trustees for Neurona Therapeutics, and scientific advisory boards for Symbiotix, Annexon, Bionure, and Molecular Stethoscope, and he has received travel reimbursement and writing support from F. Hoffmann La Roche. Dr. Bove has received fees from Genzyme-Sanofi, Roche-Genentech, and Novartis. Their comments are derived from an editorial accompanying the 2017 McDonald criteria (Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec 21. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422[17]30461-1)
Earlier diagnosis and treatment initiation is increasingly important to prevent long-term disability. In recent years, MRI has become a more powerful diagnostic tool. These guidelines present useful improvements, but challenges remain. Due to a lack of data, it is not clear how well the McDonald criteria perform in nonwhite and non-Western populations, as well as in patients with atypical presentation of a clinically isolated syndrome. The guidelines also offer little help in the treatment of asymptomatic patients with radiologically isolated syndromes who eventually develop dissemination in time or space as determined by MRI findings.
Careful application of the new criteria should reduce misdiagnosis between MS and migraine, fibromyalgia, psychiatric disorders, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, but vigilance is required and clinicians should keep an open mind regarding alternative diagnoses.
Stephen Hauser, MD, and Riley Bove, MD, are with the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hauser serves on the board of trustees for Neurona Therapeutics, and scientific advisory boards for Symbiotix, Annexon, Bionure, and Molecular Stethoscope, and he has received travel reimbursement and writing support from F. Hoffmann La Roche. Dr. Bove has received fees from Genzyme-Sanofi, Roche-Genentech, and Novartis. Their comments are derived from an editorial accompanying the 2017 McDonald criteria (Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec 21. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422[17]30461-1)
Earlier diagnosis and treatment initiation is increasingly important to prevent long-term disability. In recent years, MRI has become a more powerful diagnostic tool. These guidelines present useful improvements, but challenges remain. Due to a lack of data, it is not clear how well the McDonald criteria perform in nonwhite and non-Western populations, as well as in patients with atypical presentation of a clinically isolated syndrome. The guidelines also offer little help in the treatment of asymptomatic patients with radiologically isolated syndromes who eventually develop dissemination in time or space as determined by MRI findings.
Careful application of the new criteria should reduce misdiagnosis between MS and migraine, fibromyalgia, psychiatric disorders, and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, but vigilance is required and clinicians should keep an open mind regarding alternative diagnoses.
Stephen Hauser, MD, and Riley Bove, MD, are with the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hauser serves on the board of trustees for Neurona Therapeutics, and scientific advisory boards for Symbiotix, Annexon, Bionure, and Molecular Stethoscope, and he has received travel reimbursement and writing support from F. Hoffmann La Roche. Dr. Bove has received fees from Genzyme-Sanofi, Roche-Genentech, and Novartis. Their comments are derived from an editorial accompanying the 2017 McDonald criteria (Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec 21. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422[17]30461-1)
Updates to the McDonald criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), first introduced in 2010, should allow initiation of therapy earlier in the time point of disease. The changes expand some of the criteria that can be used for diagnosis of disease.
The McDonald criteria should be applied primarily to patients with a typical clinically isolated syndrome – that is, in whom the probability of MS is high. They are best applied to patients 11 years or older, according to first author Alan J. Thompson, MD, and his colleagues on the International Panel on Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Their update to the 2010 criteria was published online Dec. 21, 2017, in The Lancet Neurology.
The changes include:
• Cerebrospinal fluid-specific oligoclonal bands can now be used to diagnose MS in patients with a typical clinically isolated syndrome in whom MRI or clinical signs point to dissemination in space (DIS), and if there is no other, better explanation for clinical signs.
• Symptomatic or asymptomatic MRI lesions can be used in the determination of DIS or dissemination in time (DIT). An exception is MRI lesions in the optic nerve in patients with optic neuritis, due to insufficient evidence. Specifically, the panel notes that DIS “can be demonstrated by one or more T2-hyperintense lesions [symptomatic or asymptomatic] that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis in two or more of four areas of the CNS: periventricular, cortical or juxtacortical, and infratentorial brain regions, and the spinal cord.” DIT is defined by “the simultaneous presence of gadolinium-enhancing and non-enhancing lesions [symptomatic or asymptomatic] at any time or by a new T2-hyperintense or gadolinium-enhancing lesion on follow-up MRI, with reference to a baseline scan, irrespective of the timing of the baseline MRI.”
• In patients experiencing brainstem or spinal cord clinically isolated syndrome, symptomatic lesions are sufficient to determine DIS or DIT.
• Cortical or juxtacortical lesions can be used in determining DIS.
• When MS is diagnosed, physicians should determine disease course (relapsing-remitting, primary progressive, or secondary progressive), whether the disease is active or not, and whether it is progressive, using the clinical history over the previous year.
The update was driven by a range of factors, including ongoing developments in imaging, the performance of the 2010 guidelines in diverse populations, and potential confusion between MS and other conditions with similar imaging characteristics, such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, which should always be considered because symptoms can overlap with MS. These conditions demand different treatment protocols. In addition, in 2016, the European Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis (MAGNIMS) network suggested changes to the MRI criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis.
Updates to the guidelines are hardly finished. The panel called for future examination of optic nerve involvement, diverse populations, advanced imaging techniques, and biomarkers.
Some of the panel members reported financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
SOURCE: Thompson A et al., Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec 21. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30470-2
Updates to the McDonald criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis (MS), first introduced in 2010, should allow initiation of therapy earlier in the time point of disease. The changes expand some of the criteria that can be used for diagnosis of disease.
The McDonald criteria should be applied primarily to patients with a typical clinically isolated syndrome – that is, in whom the probability of MS is high. They are best applied to patients 11 years or older, according to first author Alan J. Thompson, MD, and his colleagues on the International Panel on Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Their update to the 2010 criteria was published online Dec. 21, 2017, in The Lancet Neurology.
The changes include:
• Cerebrospinal fluid-specific oligoclonal bands can now be used to diagnose MS in patients with a typical clinically isolated syndrome in whom MRI or clinical signs point to dissemination in space (DIS), and if there is no other, better explanation for clinical signs.
• Symptomatic or asymptomatic MRI lesions can be used in the determination of DIS or dissemination in time (DIT). An exception is MRI lesions in the optic nerve in patients with optic neuritis, due to insufficient evidence. Specifically, the panel notes that DIS “can be demonstrated by one or more T2-hyperintense lesions [symptomatic or asymptomatic] that are characteristic of multiple sclerosis in two or more of four areas of the CNS: periventricular, cortical or juxtacortical, and infratentorial brain regions, and the spinal cord.” DIT is defined by “the simultaneous presence of gadolinium-enhancing and non-enhancing lesions [symptomatic or asymptomatic] at any time or by a new T2-hyperintense or gadolinium-enhancing lesion on follow-up MRI, with reference to a baseline scan, irrespective of the timing of the baseline MRI.”
• In patients experiencing brainstem or spinal cord clinically isolated syndrome, symptomatic lesions are sufficient to determine DIS or DIT.
• Cortical or juxtacortical lesions can be used in determining DIS.
• When MS is diagnosed, physicians should determine disease course (relapsing-remitting, primary progressive, or secondary progressive), whether the disease is active or not, and whether it is progressive, using the clinical history over the previous year.
The update was driven by a range of factors, including ongoing developments in imaging, the performance of the 2010 guidelines in diverse populations, and potential confusion between MS and other conditions with similar imaging characteristics, such as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, which should always be considered because symptoms can overlap with MS. These conditions demand different treatment protocols. In addition, in 2016, the European Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis (MAGNIMS) network suggested changes to the MRI criteria for diagnosing multiple sclerosis.
Updates to the guidelines are hardly finished. The panel called for future examination of optic nerve involvement, diverse populations, advanced imaging techniques, and biomarkers.
Some of the panel members reported financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
SOURCE: Thompson A et al., Lancet Neurol. 2017 Dec 21. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30470-2
FROM THE LANCET NEUROLOGY