This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

I am new here and have a few questions. I have no diagnosis, and in fact have not been to the neurologist yet. My appt. is April 7. My spine is fused from T3-L2 due to a curvature issue. I saw a new orthopedic doc because of pain and other issues. As he did his evaluation, he noted that I have hyperreflexia, quite brisk apparently, in my arms and hands. I also have a positive Hoffmann's sign. I have tingling in my hands and arms, and I know an EMG I had in December showed nerve issues in the same areas. I had a cervical MRI which showed no lesions or tumors. Ortho sent me to the neuro. I have been trying to find out possible causes for all this, and MS keeps coming up. One thing I have read is that MS is an autoimmune disease. I have tested high positive ANA, and wondered if that could be a sign of MS as well. I keep getting sent from doc to doc, and it is getting frustrating. I am currently receiving IV iron treatments for anemia as well.

I know very little about MS. Can anyone shed some light as to whether or not any of this sounds like MS?

Thank you.

I have researched the ANA question as it relates to MS and I found that ANA is elavated in about 25% of active MS folks.

This make it especially difficult to use it as way to distinguish MS from Lupus and other neurological conditions.

jackD


Neurology. 1997 Sep;49(3):857-61.

Frequency and significance of antinuclear antibodies in multiple sclerosis.

Collard RC, Koehler RP, Mattson DH.

Department of Neurology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA.

Comment in:

Neurology. 1998 Aug;51(2):650.

In a prospective sample of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) we found a high frequency of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), 22.5%, confirming results from previous studies.

ANA occurrence did not correlate with gender, age, duration of MS, MS course, or disability in either the prospective and retrospective samples of MS patients.

In 16 patients with MS tested at two time points, ANA occurrence did correlate with MS disease activity. This suggests that the high frequency of ANA in MS reflects ongoing immune dysregulation.

PMID: 9305354 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE