Multiple sclerosis diagnosis and treatment has made enormous advances in recent years. Yet multiple sclerosis remains a challenge to diagnose. For example, a famous BBC journalist Carolyn Wyatt has been "struggling with undiagnosed symptoms for 25 years. But she was only diagnosed with multiple sclerosis after she was paralyzed on her left side". Why multiple sclerosis remains a diagnostic challenge today? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Actually, multiple sclerosis isn't that much of a diagnostic challenge. Dr. Howard Weiner, MD. We have the MRI scan, it is much much easier to diagnose multiple sclerosis. Sometimes individual patients might have a problem, but the problem isn't the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The problem is the treatments. The problem sometimes is trying to help patients who have the multiple sclerosis. Although we do have effective treatments. Dr. Howard Weiner, MD. I wouldn't say that is a major problem with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Howard Weiner, MD. I know this person may have had difficulty. and there may be some diseases that are hard to diagnose, but multiple sclerosis isn't one of them. Some patients have vague symptoms. Then after many years of struggle they are receiving multiple sclerosis diagnosis. What could have gone wrong in their long history of symptoms? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Why they were still without the correct diagnosis? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. You can read about such situations in literature. It happens occasionally with well-known patients. Yes. They may not have had the right diagnostic tests. With the MRI scan and with the spinal tap, most of the patients can be diagnosed correctly with multiple sclerosis. That is not a problem once patients reach appropriate experts? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. That is correct. It is a matter of reaching the right expert? Dr. Anton Titov, MD. Yes, reaching the multiple sclerosis expert and getting an MRI scan done is crucial to the correct diagnosis. Multiple sclerosis can be diagnosed in timely fashion if MRI and lumbar puncture are done and reviewed by appropriate experts. However, many people are misdiagnosed or have significant delays in diagnosis.