Christina Applegate still needs answers about the symptoms that have changed her life.
After revealing in October that she had been misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the actress says doctors are now looking into other possible causes. On a recent episode of her MeSsy podcast with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Applegate shared an update with guest Jack Osbourne.
“We’re going into square one, just doing some testing and going one-by-one of the sister diseases to MS,” she said. “You’ve got RA [rheumatoid arthritis], lupus, Lyme disease, all these things can kind of mimic MS. So now I’m being tested for all that stuff slowly but surely.”
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What She’s Hoping to Learn
When Applegate shared the misdiagnosis in October, she said she was still having trouble walking and needed help getting to medical appointments.
“I still have to use wheelchairs when I go to the doctor’s offices. I can’t walk from the car to the room. I’m still in this,” she said at the time. “Nothing magical happened when she said, ‘You don’t have MS.’”
The new tests are a step toward understanding what’s causing those symptoms. Applegate hasn’t announced another diagnosis just yet, but we’re hoping she finds the answers she’s looking for soon.
Why MS Can Be Difficult to Diagnose
No single test can confirm MS. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, doctors look for evidence of damage in different areas of the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. They also need to rule out other conditions that could explain the symptoms.
That evaluation can include a neurological exam to check balance, strength, reflexes, and vision, along with MRI scans to look for areas of damage. A spinal tap may help identify proteins associated with inflammation, but those results alone can’t confirm or rule out MS. Blood tests can help doctors check for other possible causes.
“It’s not like we have something like a pregnancy test that says, ‘Yes. You have it.’ ‘No. You don’t.’ It’s a list of criteria,” said neurologist Dr. Marwa Kaisey, who joined the podcast.
Kaisey coauthored a 2019 study that reviewed 241 patients who arrived at the Cedars-Sinai and UCLA MS clinics with an existing MS diagnosis. Specialists found that nearly one in five had been misdiagnosed.
“Almost one in five of these people who’d been told they had MS, some for decades, didn’t actually have it. And a majority of them were on medication to treat their MS,” she said.
