The diagnosis of MS is based on a combination of neurological symptoms associated with inflammatory plaques on MRI that respond to spatial dissemination (brain, spinal cord, optic nerve) and temporal dissemination (inflammatory plaques of different ages or that appear over time).
Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
The diagnosis of MS is based on MRI observation of inflammatory plaques visible by hypersignalling in the brain and spinal cord spread over time (recent and old lesions) and space (lesions involving at least two regions between 4 possible locations in the central nervous system).
The Evolution of Multiple Sclerosis
The symptoms of the disease are very heterogeneous from one patient to another. Similarly, the progression and onset of irreversible disability varies according to the ability of each affected person to "repair" his or her brain damage.
Whatever the type of MS, there are criteria for defining the activity of the disease and for monitoring its progress. The existence of flare-ups, the progression of the EDSS (Expended Disability Status Scale) score, and the appearance of new visualizable MRI lesions are recognized as markers of disease activity.
At Paris Brain Institute
The team led by Profs. Catherine Lubetzki and Bruno Stankoff has shown that the activation of microglia, resident immune cells in the brain, at the level of lesions is a promising biomarker of the development of patients’ disability. These results represent an important hope for the optimal treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis, the evaluation of new therapeutics, and the prevention of the development of the disability as much as possible.
