- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Dr Andrew Solomon Explains Prevalent Difficulties in Accurately Diagnosing MS
MS is a difficult disease to diagnose as it can present in many different ways and lacks an attributable biomarker to assess, said Andrew Solomon, MD, associate professor of neurological sciences and division chief of multiple sclerosis at Larner College of Medicine, The University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.
MS is a difficult disease to diagnose as it can present in many different ways and lacks an attributable biomarker to assess, said Andrew Solomon, MD, associate professor of neurological sciences and division chief of multiple sclerosis at Larner College of Medicine, The University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.
Transcript
What are some of the challenges that exist in accurately diagnosing MS?
MS is a challenging disorder to diagnose because it can present in so many different ways. So, there's kind of a broad variety of symptoms people might have from MS because it can affect anywhere in the nervous system. So, at times it can be quite challenging to diagnose. There's also many disorders that can mimic MS in their clinical manifestations, their symptoms, as well as, their MRI appearance. So, it can be hard at times.
The other difficulty is that we don't have a highly sensitive or specific test for MS—so we don't have a biomarker. So, right now, our diagnostic criteria, which works pretty well, is entirely clinical–is based on clinical decision making by doctors at each step along the way. So, sometimes that can be hard as well, because we don't have a blood test or a particular test that gives us high specificity for MS.
Targeting the Root of gMG With Inebilizumab: A Q&A With Richard Nowak, MD, MS
June 24th 2025In this interview, Richard J. Nowak, MD, MS, principal investigator of the MINT trial of inebilizumab for generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), discusses the trial’s key findings, including significant improvements in patient- and physician-assessed outcomes, as well as longer-term implications and future areas of investigation.
Read More
Accessibility Important After FDA Approves Lenacapavir for PrEP: Q&A With Colleen Kelley, MD, MPH
June 20th 2025The approval of lenacapavir, a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), marks significant progress in preventing HIV, making it vital for the treatment to be available and accessible to those most vulnerable, explains Colleen Kelley, MD, MPH, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
Read More
