McDonald criteria

McDonald criteria
Animation showing dissemination of multiple sclerosis lesions in time and space as demonstrated by monthly MRI studies along a year
PurposeDiagnosis of MS
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The McDonald criteria are diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS). These criteria are named after neurologist W. Ian McDonald who directed an international panel in association with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) of America and recommended revised diagnostic criteria for MS in April 2001. These new criteria intended to replace the Poser criteria and the older Schumacher criteria. They have undergone revisions in 2005,[1] 2010[2] and 2017.[3]

They maintain the Poser requirement to demonstrate "dissemination of lesions in space and time" (DIS and DIT)[2] but they discourage the previously used Poser terms such as "clinically definite" and "probable MS", and propose as diagnostic either "MS", "possible MS", or "not MS".[4]

The McDonald criteria maintained a scheme for diagnosing MS based solely on clinical grounds but also proposed for the first time that when clinical evidence is lacking, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings can serve as surrogates for dissemination in space (DIS) and/or time (DIT) to diagnose MS.[5] The criteria try to prove the existence of demyelinating lesions, by image or by their effects, showing that they occur in different areas of the nervous system (DIS) and that they accumulate over time (DIT). The McDonald criteria facilitate the diagnosis of MS in patients who present with their first demyelinating attack and significantly increase the sensitivity for diagnosing MS without compromising the specificity.[5]

The McDonald criteria for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis were revised first in 2005 to clarify exactly what is meant by an "attack", "dissemination" and a "positive MRI", etc.[1] Later they were revised again in 2017.[6]

McDonald criteria are the standard clinical case definition for MS and the 2010 version is regarded as the gold standard test for MS diagnosis.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b Polman CH, Reingold SC, Edan G, Filippi M, Hartung HP, Kappos L, et al. (December 2005). "Diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: 2005 revisions to the "McDonald Criteria"". Annals of Neurology. 58 (6): 840–846. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.604.2677. doi:10.1002/ana.20703. PMID 16283615. S2CID 54512368.
  2. ^ a b Polman CH, Reingold SC, Banwell B, Clanet M, Cohen JA, Filippi M, et al. (February 2011). "Diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: 2010 revisions to the McDonald criteria". Annals of Neurology. 69 (2): 292–302. doi:10.1002/ana.22366. PMC 3084507. PMID 21387374.
  3. ^ Thompson AJ, Banwell BL, Barkhof F, Carroll WM, Coetzee T, Comi G, et al. (February 2018). "Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: 2017 revisions of the McDonald criteria". The Lancet. Neurology. 17 (2): 162–173. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30470-2. PMID 29275977. S2CID 206164600.
  4. ^ McDonald WI, Compston A, Edan G, Goodkin D, Hartung HP, Lublin FD, et al. (July 2001). "Recommended diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis: guidelines from the International Panel on the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis". Annals of Neurology. 50 (1): 121–127. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.466.5368. doi:10.1002/ana.1032. PMID 11456302. S2CID 13870943.
  5. ^ a b Ntranos A, Lublin F (October 2016). "Diagnostic Criteria, Classification and Treatment Goals in Multiple Sclerosis: The Chronicles of Time and Space". Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports. 16 (10): 90. doi:10.1007/s11910-016-0688-8. PMID 27549391. S2CID 4498332.
  6. ^ Thompson AJ, Banwell BL, Barkhof F, Carroll WM, Coetzee T, Comi G, et al. (February 2018). "Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: 2017 revisions of the McDonald criteria". The Lancet. Neurology. 17 (2): 162–173. doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30470-2. PMID 29275977. S2CID 206164600.