Diagnosing MS with MRI and Spinal Tap

The standard procedure for diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) involves conducting an MRI to detect lesions in the brain or spinal cord, along with a potential spinal tap to check for evidence of ongoing damage. If there is only one lesion present, a spinal tap is done to confirm ongoing inflammation, meeting the criteria for an MS diagnosis. The diagnosis of MS is based on episodes of neurologic symptoms separated by time and space, where a single episode with one brain lesion is classified as a clinically isolated syndrome and not MS.