Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic are hoping to make multiple sclerosis easier to diagnose.

Nearly 1 million people in the Untied States have the disease, which affects the central nervous system.

Dr. Daniel Ontaneda said being able to diagnosis it early is very important.

“We’ve had an evolution of the criteria that is we have a set of rules of how we make a diagnosis of MS. And what we’ve tried to do over the years is enable us to make a diagnosis earlier and earlier so that we can start patients on treatment also earlier, which will enable ultimately better outcomes for our patients,” he said.

Dr. Ontaneda is one of the researchers involved with recently updating the internet national diagnostic criteria for MS. He said the updates include more of a focus on relying on certain biomarkers which they believe will help with an early diagnosis and make more accurate diagnosis.

Reports show that MS is misdiagnosed in about 20% of people. The doctor said that’s likely because physicians were allowed to make a diagnosis based off just clinical exams and patient history, but that’s no longer the case.

“Now you need some what we call per clinical evidence. That is evidence on an MRI or on a CSF test or on an electrical test to demonstrate that a person has features of multiple sclerosis,” he said.

There is no cure for MS. However, there are treatment options available to help manage symptoms and slow the progression.