[Early symptoms and diagnosis of multiple sclerosis]

Multiple Sclerosis is one of the most common neurological diseases in North and Central Europe and USA, the prevalence is 0,03-0,06%. The precise aetiological and pathological processes underlying the disease are still unknown. As there is as yet no laboratory test that is specific for Multiple Sclerosis, the diagnosis is still a clinical one. It depends on the history--a majority of patients has a history of remissions--and on the demonstration of objective signs of lesions in the white matter of the central nervous system. There can be found some early symptoms--such as optic neuritis--and some typical combinations of symptoms that make the diagnosis Multiple Sclerosis probable or clinically definit. Among the laboratory tests the investigation of cerebrospinal fluid is most important.