Diagnosis and Types of MS

Dr. Arnold Professor of Neurology & Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, QC View BIO

Q :
When an MRI is ordered to diagnosis MS, is the brain and the full spine ever ordered? I have had an MRI for my brain & neck, but not my spine. I read that MS can affect the spine or show up in a spinal MRI - is this true?
A :
Yes. It is true that the spinal cord can be affected. However, the spinal cord is a difficult structure for imaging to show lesions in and almost all patients who have MS will have lesions in their brain, so the spinal cord is often not imaged in order to diagnose MS.


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