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Clinical features

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The cardinal feature of multiple sclerosis is the presence of multiple neurological defects which are separated in time and space.

Clinical features of multiple sclerosis include:

  • optic neuritis:
    • usually unilateral
    • rarely bilateral

  • neurogenic bladder dysfunction:
    • urgency is common
    • incontinence and frequency may also be present

  • impotence

  • sensory deficits:
    • tingling in restricted distribution, e.g. spreading up a leg over a couple of days and resolving over a couple of weeks
    • Lhermitte's phenomenon: a sensation like electricity passing down the spine on neck flexion
    • trigeminal neuralgia with facial weakness and sensory loss

  • upper motor neurone deficit:
    • most commonly a spastic weakness of the legs

  • cerebellar damage:
    • ataxia
    • dysarthria
    • nystagmus

  • vertigo is common

  • dementia in the later stages

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