Researchers compared the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), with a well-established pathophysiology, defined biomarkers, and improved treatment options, and schizophrenia, with its lack of biomarkers and an unknown pathophysiology. They determined that schizophrenia shares similarities with MS, such as age of onset, geographical distribution, immune-inflammatory processes, neurocognitive impairment, and varied illness trajectories. Drawing insights from MS, researchers propose directions for improving schizophrenia diagnosis, emphasizing the need to deconstruct the psychosis spectrum and adopt dimensional approaches with deep phenotyping to refine diagnostic boundaries.
Reference: Misiak B, Samochowiec J, Kowalski K, et al. The future of diagnosis in clinical neurosciences: Comparing multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. Eur Psychiatry. 2023 Jul 21;66(1):e58. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.2432. PMID: 37476977; PMCID: PMC10486256
