To standardize and speed up diagnosis, the so-called McDonald criteria were introduced in 2001 and have since been revised several times. They combine clinical findings—such as visual disturbances, sensory disturbances or unsteadiness of gait—with results from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which reveals changes in the brain and spinal cord, as well as inflammatory markers in the cerebrospinal fluid.

In 2024, the diagnostic criteria were revised and expanded. New additions include, among other things, changes to the optic nerve. Furthermore, a diagnosis can now be made solely on the basis of an MRI scan, without clinical symptoms being present. In a new study, a research team from the Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology at Hannover Medical School (MHH) compared the old and new diagnostic criteria.

The result: The newly included diagnostic criteria meant that more people with MS who would previously have gone undetected could be identified at an early stage. The findings were published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.