Updated McDonald Diagnostic Criteria for MS diagnosis published

Earlier and more accurate diagnosis of MS can change lives. The newly published 2024 revisions to the McDonald Diagnostic Criteria are a major step forward in ensuring people with MS can access treatment sooner and achieve better long-term outcomes. Time is brain. A timely and accurate diagnosis is critical for people navigating the uncertainty of MS. The updated McDonald Diagnostic Criteria reflect years of international collaboration between clinicians, researchers, and people with lived experience. This is a true example of research driving impact.

🚨 Important update for the MS community 🚨   The new McDonald Diagnostic Criteria for Multiple Sclerosis (2024 revisions) have just been published in Lancet Neurology. These changes mark a decisive step forward in helping clinicians diagnose MS earlier, more accurately, and more safely. For patients, this means less uncertainty, faster access to treatment, and better outcomes.   🔑 What’s new in the 2024 McDonald Criteria: ·        RIS can be diagnosed as MS in specific situations ·        Optic nerve added as a 5th topography ·        Dissemination in time (DIT) no longer required ·        Updated DIS criteria ·        kappa free light chains (kFLC) included as an additional diagnostic tool ·        Unified framework for PPMS and RMS ·        Paraclinical evidence now mandatory for diagnosis ·        More strict criteria for individuals >50 years or with vascular comorbidities/migraine ·        Additional MRI biomarkers (central vein sign, paramagnetic rim lesions) as optional tools in certain situations ·        MOG-IgG explicitly recognized to rule out other neuroinflammatory diseases in children   The impact is clear: 🔹 From an average of 4 years for diagnosis in 2001 🔹 Down to 1 year today 🔹 And soon, even faster, safer, and more precise   👉 It is now key to educate and inform about these new criteria to ensure proper dissemination and adoption into practice.   For this reason, Valmed A(I)cademy (profvalmed.com Prof. Valmed® - validated medical information GmbH) is offering a CME course on the new McDonald criteria, including a McDonald Certificate powered by KKNMS Geschäftsstelle KKNMS e.V. (part of the qualification to the KKNMS "MS specialist" https://lnkd.in/egnCxYNj)   I am proud to have contributed to this work as part of the International Advisory Committee on Clinical Trials in Multiple Sclerosis, in collaboration with the National MS Society and ECTRIMS.   This is a major leap forward for patients, clinicians, and the global MS community.   📖 Full paper: Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: 2024 revisions of the McDonald criteria – Lancet Neurology. https://lnkd.in/eTjEcT5v   #MultipleSclerosis #Neurology #McDonaldCriteria #HealthcareInnovation #MSResearch #MedicalEducation #LancetNeurology #ValmedAcademy

🌟NEW STUDY🌟 Decades Later, Still Treatable: HBOT for Adult Symptoms after Childhood traumatic brain injury. Our new study in Frontiers in Neurology (published 03 Sep 2025) shows that adults who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in childhood and have lived for years with cognitive decline due to persistent post-concussion syndrome (PCS) can still be accurately diagnosed and meaningfully treated. In a cohort of 26 adults (mean 23.6 years post-injury), our dedicated HBOT protocol produced large cognitive gains across global cognition, memory, executive function, attention, and processing speed, independent of time since injury or initial severity. These findings align with prior epidemiology showing that PPCS in children is common and underdiagnosed (≈25.3% after mild TBI), underscoring the meaning of missed diagnosis in youth who prevents them from fulfilling their “biological potential” along life and the opportunity to restore potential even decades later. Read here: https://lnkd.in/daufrctR

Another research study has just been published September 2025—further reinforcing the urgent need to make hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) a true standard of care for those with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or post-concussive syndrome (PCS). We now have nearly two decades of data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with IRB oversight. The question remains: when will HBOT (neurological protocol) finally be prescribed first—and integrated into mainstream treatment—before more Veterans, first responders, and trauma patients are left to suffer or take their own lives? I am not speaking from theory—I, along with thousands of other Veterans and civilians, have personally completed HBOT using peer-reviewed protocols. It works. It saves lives. And it changes lives. It’s time to stop delaying and start healing. For quick reference, here is the HBOT protocol used in the study: Patients underwent at least 40 consecutive HBOT sessions, delivered five times per week. Each session lasted 90 min and involved breathing 100% oxygen at 2 atmospheres absolute (ATA), with 5-min air breaks every 20 min. Thank you Shai Efrati, MD, and research team, for your continued research in HBOT for neurological diagnoses. #HBOT #HBOTResearch #VeteranHealth #ScienceOverBS #TBI #Neurology #BrainHealth #PostConcussiveSyndrome Help Our Heroes

UCL has launched a groundbreaking new clinical trial seeking to revolutionise Alzheimer's diagnosis with a simple blood test. More than 1,000 patients with suspected dementia will be recruited from memory clinics across the UK to see whether the test leads to faster and more reliable diagnoses. Half of the people in the study will receive their blood test results within three months of being assessed by their memory service, while the other half will receive their results after one year. Doctors will then assess whether the test results help to speed up diagnosis and guide decisions about the patients’ future treatment. 🗣️ Professor Jonathan Schott (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) said: “Currently only about 2% of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s have access to one of these gold-standard diagnostic tests. While identifying Alzheimer’s disease early and accurately is already important for enabling access to current therapies and planning care, it will become even more critical as a new generation of treatments emerge that can slow down the decline of memory and thinking. Timely diagnosis will be key to ensuring these advances reach the people who need them most.” 🗣️ Dr Ashvini Keshavan (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) added: “An important characteristic about this trial is that it is indexing the impact of the blood test on onward care and management. Our trial is not about confirming accuracy of the blood test, as we have already done this in prior research; rather, this is about showing that it actually makes a difference to patients and hopefully can help them to get a diagnosis sooner.” The trial forms part of the Blood Biomarker Challenge, a multimillion-pound programme supported by Alzheimer's Society, Alzheimer's Research UK and the People's Postcode Lottery.

Two-step blood and scan strategy delivers near-perfect accuracy for early Alzheimer's signs A simple blood test for p-tau217, when combined with confirmatory brain scans or CSF analysis, could transform early Alzheimer's detection and cut the burden of invasive procedures. In a recent study published in JAMA Neurology, an international team of researchers evaluated whether plasma phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) could classify amyloid β (Aβ) status in cognitively unimpaired adults as a stand-alone test and in a two-step workflow with confirmatory positron emission tomography (PET) or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) testing. Background Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60% to 70% of the world’s 55 million dementia cases, placing a substantial burden on patients, families, healthcare systems, and memory clinics that rely on resource-intensive scans or lumbar punctures for diagnosis. Blood-based biomarkers offer access through a simple blood draw, eliminating the need for a hospital visit. Aβ plaques and tau tangles emerge years before symptoms, so detecting pathology in cognitively unimpaired adults could improve outcomes. Plasma p-tau217 appears promising; however, screening must strike a balance between accuracy, cost, and burden by age. Further research is needed to define blood-first workflows and thresholds for screening. https://lnkd.in/gCQYnikW https://lnkd.in/gntYMm3K

How can we accurately and efficiently identify cognitive impairment in primary care? In our latest study, published today in Nature Medicine, we demonstrate that a brief, self-administered cognitive test battery can reliably distinguish between individuals with and without cognitive impairment. This is particularly important, as amyloid-targeted therapies are currently approved only for patients with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment (MCI or dementia). Moreover, blood biomarkers such as p-tau217 have much higher positive predictive value in cognitively impaired individuals, making abnormal test results easier to interpret in this population. As outlined in our paper, we propose the following pathway: after an initial evaluation by the primary care physician, patients complete the self-administered cognitive test. If impairment is indicated, plasma p-tau217 testing can then help determine whether the symptoms are likely due to Alzheimer’s disease. Future research should evaluate whether this streamlined, cost- and time-efficient diagnostic approach can improve patient management in primary care—particularly in terms of appropriate referrals, timely treatment initiation, and overall care outcomes. Finally, I really want to thank Pontus Tideman and Linda Karlsson, two very talented PhD students, who spearheaded this project. I would also like to thank Sebastian Palmqvist who made the primary care study happen. #Alzheimer #Alzheimerdisease #Alzheimersdisease #biomarkers #primarycare https://lnkd.in/dasksZM3

Very happy that are study on combining digital cognitive tests and blood biomarkers for Alzheimer disease is now published in Nature Medicine. Together, digital cognitive tests and blood biomarkers can have profound impact both for research and how we diagnose and monitor patients in clinical practice.

New publication in Nature Medicine!   In this study, led by PhD students Pontus Tideman and Linda Karlsson, we demonstrate that a brief, self-administered cognitive test battery can reliably identify individuals with cognitive impairment in a primary care setting.    This is highly relevant as Alzheimer’s disease blood biomarkers and anti-amyloid therapies should currently be used only in individuals who have objective evidence of cognitive impairment. This increases the likelihood that a positive biomarker test truly reflects Alzheimer’s disease, and that treatment is offered at the recommended disease stage. But identifying objective cognitive impairment remains a major bottleneck in primary care.    We therefore developed and evaluated a brief, self-administered cognitive test battery, BioCog, which could identify objective cognitive impairment with 85% accuracy in primary care, outperforming both current standard-of-care (73% accuracy) and commonly used paper-and-pencil cognitive tests (67%–75% accuracy).    By combining the test with blood biomarkers such as plasma p-tau217, this approach may offer a cost- and time-efficient way to improve diagnosis and management. In the study, such a combination resulted in 90% accuracy in identifying clinical Alzheimer’s disease, better than the current standard-of-care (70% accuracy) and using blood biomarkers alone (80% accuracy).   Read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/dhzzWbak A big thank you to all co-authors Olof Strandberg, Susanna Calling, Ruben Smith, Patrik Midlöv, Philip Verghese, Joel Braunstein, MD, Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren, Erik Stomrud, Sebastian Palmqvist, Oskar Hansson.

Happy and proud to share our new study published today in Nature Medicine! The study shows that a digital, self-administered cognitive test can reliably assess if a patient seeking help in primary care actually has objectively impaired cognition or not. A digital test, in combination with blood biomarkers, can be a good way to more accurately and efficiently diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Full study: https://lnkd.in/d-Q_8s_M I am very thankful for the great team effort of this work, especially leading it together with my fantastic fellow PhD student Pontus Tideman under the great supervision of Oskar Hansson and Sebastian Palmqvist.