Possibilities of using the 2010 McDonald criteria for early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis

Revised 2010 McDonald criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) give possibility for early diagnosis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, in some cases, allow to establish a confirmed diagnosis of MS even after the first referral that is very important for timely diagnosis. However the new criteria should be tested in different samples of patients. The aim of our work was to evaluate the ability to use the new McDonald criteria in the Nyzhegorodsky population. Clinical and neuroimaging features of 103 patients with signs and symptoms proposed for MS were retrospectively analyzed according to the revised McDonald criteria. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive and negative predictive values for conversion from clinically isolated syndromes to clinically definite multiple sclerosis were calculated. The results of the study were similar to those approved by the international panel for European populations. It has been concluded that the early diagnosis of MS can be established on the basis of a single MRI but the use of these criteria is limited by the high price of MRI.