Christina Applegate Says Doctors Have Ruled Out MS Diagnosis
Christina Applegate says doctors now believe she does not have multiple sclerosis, nearly five years after she publicly announced the diagnosis. The actor discussed the finding on MeSsy, the podcast she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who has MS.
Applegate said the news has not changed her symptoms or brought her relief. She continues to experience pain and difficulty using her legs, and doctors have not given her another diagnosis. “I’m back at square one,” she said. She explained that she had spent time away from the podcast partly to process the finding.
Applegate first noticed numbness in her feet in 2021. It spread up her legs, and pain followed. She said she underwent extensive testing, including brain and spinal MRIs and a spinal tap. After doctors found nearly 40 brain lesions, she received an MS diagnosis, which she made public that August.
According to Applegate, her doctors later paused infusion treatments and found that her B-cell levels did not change. They revisited her diagnosis, using newer MRI technology, and eventually concluded that she did not have MS. The cause of her continuing symptoms remains unknown.
MS affects the central nervous system and can cause fatigue, numbness, vision problems and difficulties with mobility. Diagnosing it can be challenging because other conditions can produce similar symptoms or MRI findings. Studies cited in the report have found varying rates of MS misdiagnosis.
Dr. Mark Freedman, an MS specialist at The Ottawa Hospital, said an incorrect diagnosis can expose patients to unnecessary risks from treatments that suppress the immune system. He said clinicians should continue testing and monitoring patients when the diagnosis is uncertain.
Applegate also expressed concern about what the finding meant for her years of MS advocacy. Sigler told her that the work still mattered. For now, Applegate said, the absence of an explanation for her symptoms is unsettling.