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Review
. 2020 Jan:37:101459.
doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2019.101459. Epub 2019 Oct 18.

Consensus recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis: 2019 revisions to the MENACTRIMS guidelines

B Yamout  1 , M Sahraian  2 , S Bohlega  3 , M Al-Jumah  4 , R Goueider  5 , M Dahdaleh  6 , J Inshasi  7 , S Hashem  8 , I Alsharoqi  9 , S Khoury  10 , M Alkhawajah  11 , S Koussa  12 , J Al Khaburi  11 , A Almahdawi  13 , T Alsaadi  14 , E Slassi  15 , S Daodi  16 , M Zakaria  17 , R Alroughani  18
Affiliations
Review

Consensus recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis: 2019 revisions to the MENACTRIMS guidelines

B Yamout et al. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

With evolving diagnostic criteria and the advent of new oral and parenteral therapies for MS, most current diagnostic and treatment algorithms need revision and updating. The diagnosis of MS relies on incorporating clinical and paraclinical findings to prove dissemination in space and in time, and exclude alternative diseases that can explain the findings at hand. The differential diagnostic workup should be guided by clinical and laboratory red flags to avoid unnecessary tests. Appropriate selection of multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies is critical to maximize patient benefit. The current guidelines review the scientific evidence supporting treatment of acute relapses, radiologically isolated syndrome, clinically isolated syndrome, relapsing remitting MS, and progressive MS. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide practical recommendations and algorithms for the diagnosis and treatment of MS based on current scientific evidence and clinical experience.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors received honoraria from Biologix (the distributor for Biogen Idec across the Middle East and North Africa region) for serving on their advisory board and from other pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, GSK, Bayer, Merck, Sanofi and Roche. The manuscript represents the views and opinions of the members involved in the development of the guidelines. There is no industrial or pharmaceutical support or bias in the selection of the members or the recommendations reached. This effort was sponsored and carried out under the supervision of MENACTRIMS (The Middle East and North Africa Committee for Treatment and Research In Multiple Sclerosis).

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