Diagnosis of Muscular Sclerosis Disease

Muscular sclerosis or multiple sclerosis (MS) disease is an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks its own central nervous system (CNS) causing inflammation of CNS and loss of myelin sheath over the neurons. Early muscular sclerosis diagnosis is important for disease management. 

What is the Diagnosis of Muscular Sclerosis Disease?

According to the symptoms, muscular sclerosis tests are performed for proper diagnosis:

• Blood tests – This test is particularly done to rule out the possibility of having other diseases with similar symptoms.
• Lumbar puncture/spinal tap – This test is done to diagnose the presence of muscular sclerosis as well to rule out the possibility of other diseases. In this test a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid is taken and used to identify the presence of auto-antibodies. 
• Evoked potential test – This test records the electrical signals produced by the brain. It gives the information about how the electrical signal travels and tells about any slowed conduction due to presence of plaques (lesions).
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – It is an imaging technique that uses radio waves and magnets to produce images of internal organs. It is the most preferred method to diagnose muscular sclerosis and also to monitor the disease course. 

Conclusion

The muscular sclerosis diagnosis is dependent upon several physical parameters; but, there is no specific muscular sclerosis test available. The diagnosis is done with one or more tests mentioned above along with considering the factors of differential diagnosis (ruling out the possibility of other diseases with similar symptoms).