Neurológia pre prax 4/2011

Multiple sclerosis – current diagnostics, prognosis and treatment efficacy monitoring

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that, without treatment, causes significant disability in most patients. At present, the only prevention is early antiinflammatory treatment. Unfortunately, currently used drugs are only partially effective, and, in most patients clinical activity persists. Accurately assessing the treatment response to disease-modifying agents enables non-responder patients to be identified at an early stage of therapy. Patients can then be switched to another, potentially more effective treatment. The follow up must be comprehensive and involve clinical and modern paraclinical examinations with objective evaluation of underlying pathological processes in the central nervous system.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, prognostic markers, early treatment, magnetic resonance imaging.