Differential diagnosis between ME/CFS and Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

A percentage of ME/CFS patients, either recently diagnosed or who have been ill for a substantially longer period, have neurological signs and symptoms. Drs. Anthony Komaroff and  Dedra Buchwald reported seeing ataxia (difficulty with muscle coordination), focal weakness, and transient blindness in ME/CFS patients.

Drs. Henderson and Shelokov, in their study of CFS-like outbreaks in the U.S., found signs of paresis (partial paralysis), facial paresis, urinary retention, diplopia (double vision) and Babinski's sign (improper nerve conduction in the toes.)

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurological illness in which the myelin sheath covering of nerves is progressively destroyed. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society this degenerative process "impairs the transmission of nerve impulses to muscles and other organs of the body. The symptoms of MS include weakness numbness, tremor, loss of vision, pain, paralysis, loss of balance and bowel dysfunction."

There is at least the distinct appearance of overlap in some of the neurological signs and symptoms between ME/CFS and MS. A leading international expert in MS, Dr. Charles Poser, has also studied ME/CFS. In an article entitled "The Differential Diagnosis of CFS and MS" published in the CFIDS Research Review (CFIDS Association of America), Dr. Poser writes: "An alarming number of CFS patients are misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). The severity and symptoms of CFS fluctuate and sometimes mimic the relapses and remission of MS...In a review of 366 patients referred to me who had been diagnosed with MS by a board-certified neurologist, only 236 patients (65%) had been correctly diagnosed. An astounding 28 (22%) actually had CFS."

The differential diagnosis between the two illnesses can be complicated, even to a neurologist.

In summary, his basic points are as follows: most patients who have definite neurological symptoms that suggest MS are referred to a neurologist who will routinely order an MRI. Many patients with ME/CFS will show punctate white spots in the white matter—as will MS patients. However the definition and areas of the spots are somewhat different in the two illnesses, and some radiologists may miss these distinctions. Dr. Poser is firm that MS must not be diagnosed on the basis of MRIs alone. He states that while many ME/CFS signs and symptoms mimic those of MS, there are significant differences, which thereby demand a full and careful evaluation and history. MS rarely shows the infectious-like symptoms of ME/CFS, nor the broader multiplicity of symptoms across physiological systems of ME/CFS.

To further complicate matters, MS especially in its initial stages, can more closely mimic ME/CFS symptoms. Numbers of patients have, as time progressed, been diagnosed as having one illness and then the other. It is absolutely important that a patient suspected of having ME/CFS, but having clear neurological symptoms, be referred to a neurologist qualified to make the differential diagnosis.