Christina Applegate’s MS misdiagnosis after 5 years of treatment exposes alarming medical reality

Christina Applegate says doctors have told her she does not have multiple sclerosis, despite being diagnosed in 2021 and receiving treatment for years. The reversal has left her without an explanation for ongoing symptoms that she says have worsened, highlighting the difficulty of diagnosing MS.

There is no single definitive test for MS; doctors assess a set of criteria that can include MRI findings, some of which are subjective. A study of patients referred to MS clinics at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai found that nearly one in five people diagnosed with MS did not have it, and most had taken MS medication. Newer MRI techniques, including the central vein sign, may help distinguish MS lesions from spots caused by other conditions.