From Newsweek · · 1m 30s
Christina Applegate reveals MS misdiagnosis
Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed with MS for years, symptoms persist.
In brief
Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed with MS for years, symptoms persist. Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than five years after her diagnosis, but her symptoms have worsened. Originally reported by Newsweek.
Christina Applegate's MS diagnosis
Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than five years after publicly announcing that she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune neurological disease.
Applegate's current symptoms
Applegate says her debilitating symptoms have not disappeared and have in some respects gotten worse.
MS diagnosis challenges
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says there is no single symptom, physical finding or laboratory test that can by itself prove someone has multiple sclerosis.
Diagnostic process
Doctors look for evidence of damage in different areas of the central nervous system and may need to identify lesions with characteristics associated with MS.
Revised diagnostic criteria
The McDonald criteria were revised in 2024 and published in The Lancet Neurology in 2:025.
Misdiagnosis rates
A 2019 study found up to 19 percent of those diagnosed with MS may have been misdiagnosed.
Applegate's experience
Applegate says her doctor told her she does not have MS after her B-cell count did not change after stopping treatment.
Symptoms persist
Applegate continues to experience every symptom of someone with MS and uses wheelchairs when going to doctor's offices.
Emotional impact
Applegate says the change in diagnosis has taken an emotional toll and she has taken time away from MeSsy to process the development.
What matters most
Christina Applegate says she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis more than five years after her diagnosis, but her symptoms have worsened.
