Multiple sclerosis is a common disabling neurological disorder. The neurologist is involved in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and of necessity in considering its differential diagnosis. Jackie Palace considers how to make the diagnosis and Neil Scolding considers the differential diagnosis. Dr Palace discusses how to manage the difficult process of informing the patient of the diagnosis. This discussion inevitably involves some exploration and prediction of what the future will hold; George Ebers provides a discussion of what is known of the prognosis of multiple sclerosis. We have not provided a detailed discussion of disease modulating drugs, as this is widely discussed elsewhere, but provide the references to the main trials. An important role of the neurologist is in advising on the management of symptoms in patients with established multiple sclerosis. Alan Thompson discusses the opportunities, and limitations, for symptom management.

Many of the key references about multiple sclerosis are cited in the articles that follow. Here we highlight a few of the most useful and important sources. …