Everyone I know who has multiple sclerosis (MS) can tell me the date they were diagnosed with the disease. Most have at least a vague recollection of their first symptoms. But when did their MS actually begin?
MS May Begin Before Symptoms Manifest
In a study published in September 2019 in JAMA Neurology, researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston and collaborators reviewed blood serum samples from 60 members of the U.S. military who later went on to develop MS. They found increased concentrations of a biomarker called serum neurofilament light chain in those samples relative to a control group. (A biomarker is a measurable substance in the human body.)
Couple this information with previous research, published in The Lancet in April 2017, that was conducted in four Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia). It showed an increased use of health services in the run-up to an MS diagnosis. It seems there is a good argument to be made that we all had MS before we exhibited symptoms. To read this article is its entirety click the link: Everyday Health