What is a Spinal Tap? Cerebral Spinal Fluid and Multiple Sclerosis

Question of the Day: Imagine that there is a CSF biomarker for disease activity and response to treatment. Imagine that by checking this biomarker (requires spinal tap) once annually, it would markedly improve your long term outcome. WOULD YOU agree to do this? Sound off below, why or why not?

Thanks for this video! My diagnosis was confirmed by a spinal tap which revealed 18 oligoclonal bands after 2 MRIs and the electrical conduction tests. I'd been deteriorating rapidly for a year before finally being diagnosed, but only after I'd experienced all the various symptoms randomly and repeatedly for nearly a decade without anyone figuring out what might have been the cause. It was actually a new psychiatrist who recognized the symptoms on my first visit and he set me up with a neurologist for testing. I got really lucky there.

1985. I was falling more than normal and having some tingling in my feet and hands. The doctor thought we needed to check on a few things and one of the tests he took was a lumbar punch. I have nightmares of this. They didn't have me curl up, I was laid flat on a table, strapped feet and handles to hold onto. They numbed things, but I still felt a lot of it. They drew out some fluid, then injected dye, then tilted the table toward the floor to the point I felt my feet would come off, then up where I was standing. They took some either MRI or Cat, I'm not sure which (it's pretty foggy now). But I DO remember the pain, I got the headache that lasted about 12 hours. They kept me in the hospital for a couple days. The doctor said that I had "markers" in my fluid and that he was going to say it was Multiple Sclerosis. I had a bit more trouble over that year, then things settled down. I've had a bit off and on, things like dropping things, my eyes unfocusing, tripping over nothing and falling, and weakness in my legs. I'm having trouble now, but I also have fibromyalgia and Hashimoto's so it's just another autoimmune thing. I do have a wheelchair and when I'm out where I'll have to walk a lot, we use it (electric). The EMT group in our small town knows our address and they have to pick me up off the floor/ground more and more often. I had a chair collapse a couple nights ago and I couldn't stand up on my own. My husband can't lift me, so we had three big firemen over to pull me up and get me seated. So, do I just keep going and weather the storms as they come? I really don't want to be on more medicine, I'm on a lot now.

Learning something all the time from you.🙂

This was a great explanatory video. Especially the NfL stuff. Cheers.

I had one LP prior to my MS diagnosis. My journey began with foot drop and now I am completely wheelchair bound. I would certainly have another, but I see that others sadly had bad experiences. Mine was X-ray guided and the only drawback was my fluid moved very slowly. TY Dr Boster for these videos!

Thank you for a very informative video. I'm glad someone can offer me answers!

Just got my CSF lumbar puncture lab results back, and it's positive for the unpaired oligoclonal bands. Dang it. I jumped on the channel here because I was pretty sure you'd have a video about it, and sure enough. Thanks, Dr. B.

Brilliant doctor.

Great, informational video, thank you! They think my daughter (32 years old, with 2 kids) may have MS. We are going in today for a spinal tap as they found lesions on the brain (5 of them) - your video made me feel a bit more educated about this subject as we do not have a history of MS in our genetic make up. At least not four generations worth. Thank you for comforting me as we now drive to get the Spinal Tap done.

This was very informative, all of your MS videos have been very educational and helpful in my journey to learn about MS. Im going through the process of a series of test to determine if I have MS after having Optic Neuritis.

Thanks. I really appreciate your clear explanations.

Hi this is Sue Monroe-McCreery (alias M&M) thank you for explaining the Spial tap. I had one in 2011 and was diagnosed with MS after that and other tests. Nothing was explained to me. Someone from my MS support group told the group about you and I've been listening and learning from you since 2017. I moved from Red Bluff, Ca to Florence, Oregon because of the horrible summer heat in RB. Now I'm within walking distance to my happy place, the beach. I have trouble catching your live sessions so I find whatever you have put out. Thanks for reading my comment and I will keep trying to catch your live sessions. Sue M&M

I LOVE your videos about MS! Thank you!

Thank you so much much for making this videos, four months ago I got diagnosed with MS and was a difficult moment for me, but now thanks to your videos I have learned a lot from the disease. Greetings from Guatemala.

All he said was so true I remember imagining huge needles in mind when I heard my first neurologist say to the nurse: no 25 doesn't work... give me a 30 and 22 needle. But everything went fine after all and my Doc was amazing through the process! A nurse helped me feel at ease during the process :D and I'm lucky I'm living through an era where ms research is advancing and something can be done for multiple sclerosis.

Fascinating… Very well explained complex process, thank you

I just had a lumber puncture today at Torbay hospital as i have possible MS .. this is interesting and well explained .. thank you from the UK

Question: What is a Blood Patch and when would it be needed after a LP?

You're awesome, Doc!