Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is often seen in young adults and known to cause both physical and cognitive disability, and it is quite important to make an objective assessment of the physical-cognitive disability status of the patients. The first scale that assesses the physical disability in MS cases, the Disability Status Scale (DSS) elaborated in 1983 and transformed into the Expanded DSS (EDSS). It has been in use since 1983 without much change, which is one of its most significant advantages. It includes all functional systems (although with some shortcomings) that may be affected in MS and reflects the clinical status as a number, which is quite valuable. Although there may be differences between EDSS practitioners, it has been in use for more than 30 years and it can objectively display the difference between a patient's clinical picture 20 years ago and today, which can be said for only a small number of scales. This shows the importance of using the same scale for diseases that require long-term monitoring such as MS. In conclusion; it is a consensus that EDSS will not undergo major changes so that its greatest advantage can be preserved. Also, the consensus in the available literature is that EDSS will never lose its value.

Cognitive impairment may be seen in as many as 43–70% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be observed in all MS subtypes. The Brief International Cognitive Assessment in Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery may be used to evaluate cognition status. The purpose of the current study is to validate the BICAMS battery in Turkish. Patients with MS attending our clinic between September 2014 and April 2015 were invited to participate. Healthy control participants were matched in terms of age, gender and years of education. One hundred seventy-three MS patients and 153 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study. MS patients performed significantly worse in all trials than the members of the healthy control group. In addition, cognitive dysfunction was identified in 78 of the 173 (45.1%) patients. In the MS with cognitive impairment group, 64 out of 151 (42.4%) subjects were RRMS patients, 12 out of 18 (66.7%) were secondary progressive MS patients, and 2 out of 4 (50%) were primer progressive MS patients. The BICAMS has been proposed for assessing cognitive impairment in MS patients. This study shows that the battery is suitable for use in Turkey.

Objective: Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is a clinical state that proceeds with inflammation and demyelination, suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the central nervous system in the absence of other alternative diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to determine in a prospective cohort, the predictor factors in conversion from CIS to MS on the basis of clinical, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings. Methods: Forty-one CIS patients were included in this study and followed up for at least two years. Results: Clinically, polysymptomatic or sensorial involvement, good prognostic factors and complete response to pulse therapy were found to be of prognostic value in conversion to MS. A greater presence of oligoclonal bands in CSF was identified in the converted group (92.8%). In terms of localization, presence of callosal lesion (71.4%), periventricular lesion (97.1%), Gd-enhanced lesion (48.6%), black hole (54.2%) and brainstem lesion (57.1%) was statistically significant in terms of conversion to MS. Conclusion: A carefully performed neurological assessment of symptoms and signs, and evaluation of lesions on MR combined with CSF findings are important for identifying the risk of conversion to MS. This information may be useful when considering treatment in CIS patients instead of waiting for conversion to MS.