It has been over a century since multiple sclerosis was described as a disease entity. Since that time, there has been little advance in knowledge as to the causes of this disease. There is no certainty of diagnosis during the life of the patient. Chiefly, the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) rests on the presence of frequently recurrent symptoms and the absence of evidence pointing to some other specific cause. Most experienced neurologists would welcome a test to aid them in their diagnosis of MS.
One of the most frequent syndromes found in the histories of MS patients concerns the visual functions. This syndrome usually includes diplopia, diminution of visual acuity, scotoma, and achromatopsia. According to autopsy reports, lesions of the optic pathway occur with a relatively high frequency in MS patients. It is possible that a few cases reporting a syndrome of retrobulbar neuritis may be proved not to