Christina Applegate says she was wrongfully diagnosed with MS

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   Christina Applegate says she was wrongfully diagnosed with MS

   BBC NewsPublished Oct 20, 2026Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “Christina Applegate thought she was living with multiple sclerosis (MS) for five years, until recently discovering she had been given a wrong diagnosis. The actress, known for hits like Anchorman and Married With Children, said she was "not happy at all" about the news and in tears when she found out. "You don't get misdiagnosed and then all of the sudden I'm better," Applegate said in an episode of her Messy podcast released on Tuesday. "If anything, I've gotten worse." The two-part episode, co-hosted by Jamie Sigler, ends a recent break she took to process the information. An investigation into what is causing her debilitating symptoms - which she experiences daily - will begin next week. "I'm back at square one where I don't know what's going on with me," she said. In the podcast, Applegate said that "all of a sudden, a few years ago", her doctor suggested ending her infusion treatment for MS to see how her body reacted. During the time off, her body did not respond in a way that would indicate she had MS. Doctors then looked into her case further and concluded she in fact did not have the autoimmune disease, which can cause muscle stiffness and problems with walking and talking. "She came into my room and said, 'Congratulations, you don't have MS,' " Applegate said, recalling the moment. "I was, like, not happy at all," she continued.”

2. 2

   Application of the 2024 McDonald Criteria: Earlier Diagnosis and Avoiding Misdiagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in a Global Setting.

   Neurology (Solomon et al.)Published Aug 19, 2026Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “The 2024 revisions continue to rely on recognition of typical clinical and MRI findings of MS, and additionally recommend specific approaches to pediatric patients, patients with vascular comorbidities, and older patients to further reduce the risk of misdiagnosis. Previous data suggest barriers to implementation, and misunderstanding and misapplication of prior revisions to MS diagnostic criteria that may be associated with misdiagnosis. Implementation of the revised 2024 McDonald criteria globally, particularly in low and low-middle income countries, will require educational outreach, leveraging and maximizing existing resources, and engagement of health care systems to improve access to new technology. This review contextualizes the implications of key revisions in the 2024 criteria for routine clinical care, while providing accessible guidance for its appropriate application with a lens toward nonspecialist clinicians and trainees globally, to ensure early and accurate MS diagnosis.”

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   Combining the central vein sign and paramagnetic rim lesions in the evaluation of multiple sclerosis misdiagnosis.

   Multiple sclerosis and related disorders (Lee et al.)Published Oct 3, 2026Checked Oct 20, 2026

   “of CVS and PRLs, individually and in combination, for differentiating MS from patients misdiagnosed with MS in a prospectively recruited matched cohort study.MethodsThirty patients referred to a tertiary MS center with a neurologist-assigned diagnosis of MS were prospectively recruited after independent expert consensus adjudication: 15 with confirmed MS and 15 with an alternative non-MS diagnosis (misdiagnosed). Brain MRI was evaluated for CVS and PRLs by blinded raters. Measures of diagnostic performance, including sensitivity and specificity, were calculated for CVS (Select6* criteria) and PRLs (≥1) as standalone and combined biomarkers.ResultsThe MS cohort had more CVS-positive (66.7%vs. 13.3%, p = 0.004) and PRL-positive (53.3%vs. 0%, p = 0.001) patients than the misdiagnosed cohort. Defining the combined test as positive when at least one of CVS or PRL was present yielded the highest sensitivity (73.3%, 95% CI: 51.0-95.7%). Requiring both biomarkers yielded 100% specificity but reduced sensitivity (46.7%, 95% CI: 21.4-71.9%).ConclusionCombined CVS and PRL assessment may provide complementary, supportive evidence in diagnostically challenging cases vulnerable to misdiagnosis.”

4. 4

   Multiple sclerosis (Wikipedia)

   WikipediaChecked Oct 20, 2026

   “Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and neurodegenerative autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks myelin, the insulating cover of nerve cells, causing damage to the central nervous system. This impairs the nervous system's ability to transmit signals. Symptoms include double vision, vision loss, eye pain, muscle weakness, loss of coordination, as well as cognitive issues like problems with memory. MS may be a rare complication of an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Genetics and environmental factors like exposure to sunlight also impact the risk of MS. MS can be diagnosed based on symptoms, MRI scans, and sometimes a lumbar puncture to investigate spinal fluid. There is no cure for MS. Current treatments aim to manage symptoms during acute flares and prevent further attacks with disease-modifying therapies. With effective treatment, it is possible to reduce attacks strongly, but the disease progress is not fully stopped. In addition, symptoms of MS like balance issues can be managed with drugs and with non-drug treatments (e.g. physical therapy). On average, life expectancy is slightly lower than normal.”