Effect of Changes in MS Diagnostic Criteria Over 25 Years on Time to Treatment and Prognosis in Patients With Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Abstract

A continuous decrease in the time to MS diagnosis and treatment initiation was observed across diagnostic criteria periods. Overall, patients diagnosed in more recent diagnostic criteria periods displayed a lower risk of reaching disability. The prognostic improvement is maintained after the Will Rogers phenomenon is discarded, and early treatment appears to be the most likely contributing factor.