'100s misdiagnosed with MS'
- ITN
'100s misdiagnosed with MS'
A doctor has called for multiple sclerosis sufferers to be tested for a condition which has the same symptoms but can be treated with an aspirin. Dr Graham Hughes has called for MS sufferers to be given routine blood tests to rule out a condition called Hughes Syndrome. MS is the most common disabling disease that affects nearly 85,000 people. Dr Hughes said around 5 per cent of sufferers could have been misdiagnosed and could have Hughes Syndrome instead. Dr Hughes, now a professor at the London Lupus Centre, was the first to report the syndrome in the British Medical Journal in 1983. Those with the syndrome have abnormally 'sticky blood' which can cause clotting. Their symptoms can include headaches, migraines, memory loss and loss of balance, similar to a neurological condition like MS. Professor Hughes said: 'The syndrome can affect any organ in the body, but when it affects the brain it can cause symptoms similar to those suffered by people with MS. 'Sufferers get headaches or migraines, or their balance goes wrong or they get pins and needles. It can affect people quite badly and they will suffer something like a stroke or a deep vein thrombosis.' It is said to be the cause of as many as one in five miscarriages and one in five strokes in people aged under 45. But a simple test can establish if a person is suffering from Hughes Syndrome. It can be treated with aspirin or warfarin, and doctors have seen miraculous recoveries in some cases. The Hughes Syndrome Foundation can be contacted on 020 7188 8217 or visit [ www.hughes-syndrome.org. http://www.hughes-syndrome.org/ ]
ITN | August 31, 2006
