Did anyone else read in the newspapers this weekend that a MS diagnosis can now be achieved with a blood test.
l think it must have been the Saturday Express - Typically. l tried to find it again to show my friends - but could not find it - which is always the way - shall start going through it again - before l use the newspaper to line the ‘ferrets cage’ - like you do!!!
Didn’t see anything about diagnosing via a blood test, but there was an article in Saturday’s Express about using eye scans.
Neil
I know Israeli scientists were working on this some time ago, so I don’t know if it’s the outcome of the same study.
Military service is compulsory in Israel, for all young people, and apparently all conscripts undergo a blood test. Because of this, they had a large body of blood-test evidence they could refer to, and could go back and examine blood results of conscripts who’d subsequently gone on to develop MS, and see what differentiated them from those that didn’t. I think they did find something in the ones who developed MS, that wasn’t common in the general population, and were working to refine this to a viable screening test, but I don’t know how far they ever got. One problem was that to catch everyone who was at risk of developing MS, you’d have to screen everyone, and unless it’s already done for something like military service, as in Israel, that would be vastly expensive, and unlikely to happen.
T.
Neil - You are correct - it was eye scan. Thanks for replying - l will look at it again. Hopefully this means a stop to all the folk who are left in ‘limboland’ without a positive diagnosis.
Just a thought - this could be the answer for Poll - who has been messed about for far too long - and has recently had to indure a very unpleasant LP.
I was diagnosed with m.s. following a blood test.
i thought blood tests would rule out any other things that mimic MS and not dx MS itself?..am i wrong?
Anon:
As it stands at the moment, you are right.
However, research has been going on for some time for a test that would be able to diagnose MS from blood. It looks as if we are not there yet, but it may only be a matter of time. There is also research going on that attempts to predict likelihood of relapse from blood tests. Again, this is not something available on the NHS today, but it’s another tool to watch out for in years to come.
Tina
Sorry, I had not seen the post above yours…
No, I do not see how anyone could receive a positive diagnosis from a blood test either. At the moment, even if a trial of one the new tests in development suggested someone did have MS, I can’t see how that would be accepted as fact, without confirmation from more conventional tests (LP/MRI/VEP etc.)
T.
l got it wrong it is not a blood test but is the above – diagnosis from a eye scan. And about time too.
F.
S’OK F, don’t think you are the cause of the confusion. Someone else has posted that they were diagnosed by a blood test. Don’t see how that’s possible, unless they were part of some trial that’s going on - but even then, it would surely have to be confirmed by more orthodox methods, otherwise how could you tell if the “trial” diagnosis by blood was reliable?
Wish folks wouldn’t keep posting as “anonymous” for completely non-sensitive subjects. Gets very confusing when “Anonymous” replies to “Anonymous”, and you can’t tell how many different posters are in the same thread.
Mmmm, interesting post. Thanks for thinking of me Frances. I`ll add it to my list of questions for the lovely Dr Da Falla on friday.
An MS buddy has told me she has seen him/heard about him. She says he rattles on a bit, so I`ll be ready to jump in…sis is going and will be of the same readiness!!!
luv Pollx
Hi Frances, Did they get a diagnosis from people who have eye problems with their MS? As atm I have not had any eye problems at all, so would it not show up on me? Although, I did have an abnormal VEP, despite my eyes feeling and behaving fine atm. Teresa xx