differential diagnosis
Last reviewed 11/2020
It is important not to immediately leap to a diagnosis of MS. The following should be considered:
- a structural lesion should be excluded when disease is primarily unifocal, particularly when the lesion is in the spine
- other diseases with relapsing and remitting course:
- cerebrovascular disease
- some cerebral tumours
- Lyme disease
- chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculopathy
- Sjogren's syndrome
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- other causes of progressive spastic paraparesis:
- spinal cord compression
- vitamin B12 deficiency
- HIV myelopathy
- HTLV-1 associated myelopathy
- leukodystrophies
- hereditary spastic paraparesis
- other causes of visual loss:
- meningioma
- Leber's atrophy
- acute ischaemic optic neuropathy
- toxic amblyopia
- Friedreich's ataxia
- neurosyphilis
- vitamin B12 deficiency
- spinocerebellar ataxias
- CADASIL