Early clues, early care for multiple sclerosis
For people living with multiple sclerosis, timing matters. New research suggests there may be opportunities to recognize the condition earlier, opening the door to support sooner in a patient’s health journey.
A new study led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) scientist and University of British Columbia (UBC) professor Dr. Helen Tremlett is helping reshape what we know about the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis (MS).
By looking at 25 years of health‑care data from across British Columbia, the research team discovered that people may begin experiencing subtle signs of MS up to 15 years before the symptoms typically used to make a diagnosis.
MS affects the brain and spinal cord and can lead to life‑altering challenges such as fatigue, mobility issues and vision changes. Canada has among the highest rates of MS in the world, making earlier detection especially important for patients and families.
Dr. Tremlett’s team found that, long before diagnosis, people who later developed MS visited their general practitioner more often and reported concerns such as fatigue, dizziness, pain and mental health changes. Increased visits to specialists, including neurologists and ophthalmologists, also began years before symptom onset.
While these symptoms are common and do not predict MS for most people, this population‑level research offers important insight: MS may be developing silently long before it is recognized.
“Our hope is that by understanding these early patterns, we can one day identify MS sooner and support people earlier in their health journey,” says Dr. Tremlett.
The findings move researchers closer to tools that could combine symptoms, biological markers and individual risk factors to detect MS earlier, offering the potential to slow progression and protect quality of life.
By deepening our understanding of complex conditions and advancing earlier detection, we enhance the care experience for patients, attract top clinicians and researchers, and continue to position VCH as a leader in innovative research, world‑class health care.
