Neurological Symptoms that Resemble Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease that mistakenly attacks the myelin causing a sort of short-circuiting in the brain. What happens when the myelin sheaths are damaged is it causes plaque or scaring to occur in the brain and the spine. Symptoms are many and vary greatly from one person to another with MS. There are other diseases that mimic MS.

Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis

Most people who are diagnosed with MS are diagnosed after several trips to their doctor for a myriad of symptoms. For instance, the first symptoms of MS may be a tingling in the extremities or vision difficulties. At some point the patient is referred to a neurologist where they are further tested and sent for an MRI along with a lumbar puncture. These two tests together along with office observations helps to make the MS diagnosis. There are times when the symptoms a person may be experiencing does not quite fit the typical pattern of MS.

Neurological Diseases that Mimic Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease, therefore, it makes sense when there is another illness going on that it will also be an autoimmune and neurological just as MS is. MS is characterized by bouts of relapses where the person may have worsening symptoms for days or months and then slowly get back to the state they were before the relapse. Often some of the relapse symptoms do not go away completely and therefore, the person with MS has to make adjustments in their lives accordingly.

A common illness that can mimic MS in the early stages is systemic lupus eerythematosus or SLE. Moreover, Sjogren's syndrome can also mimic MS early on. Both of these diseases have central nervous system changes and can cause the person to have relapses, which can look like MS. Today, there are more tests to show SLE but Sjogren's syndrome is typically diagnosed when everything else has been ruled out. It is important to feel comfortable with your neurologist who is making the diagnosis.