Clinical features

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