Jun 3 2024MS Australia A new report has revealed the prolonged time to diagnose multiple sclerosis and highlighted the urgent need for increased investment in MS research and enhanced awareness of the disease.
Since the introduction of the first disease-modifying therapies for MS treatment in 1996, the average time to diagnosis has reduced from five years and almost four months in 1997-2000 to three years and almost 11 months in 2017-21. More than 33,000 Australians are now living with MS, which is the most commonly acquired chronic neurological disease affecting young adults. Concerningly, the number of people diagnosed with MS has been increasing at an accelerating rate.
"Given MS affects about one in seven hundred Australians, many GPs are unlikely to see people with MS depending on where they practice. So if a person comes to them with those symptoms, it may not be the first thing they think of if the awareness isn't there."