Real-world practices and challenges of radiologically isolated syndrome: results of a cross-sector survey by the DACH MS guidelines group - Summary - MDSpire

Real-world practices and challenges of radiologically isolated syndrome: results of a cross-sector survey by the DACH MS guidelines group

  • By

  • Friederike Held

  • Antonios Bayas

  • Katharina Christe

  • Christian Dettmers

  • Burkhard Domurath

  • Juliane Ebert

  • Edeltraud Faßhauer

  • Peter Flachenecker

  • Jutta Gärtner

  • Dzenita Hasanbasic

  • Christoph Heesen

  • Harald Hegen

  • Thomas Henze

  • Peter Huppke

  • Veronika Kana

  • Michael Khalil

  • Ruth Kirschner-Hermanns

  • Thomas Korn

  • Tania Kümpfel

  • Sabine Lamprecht

  • Uwe Meier

  • Gerd Meyer zu Horste

  • Mathias Mäurer

  • Frederike Cosima Oertel

  • Caroline Pot

  • Anne-Katrin Pröbstel

  • Kevin Rostásy

  • Anke Salmen

  • Jutta Scheiderbauer

  • Markus Schmidt

  • Erwin Stark

  • Corinna Trebst

  • Regina Trollmann

  • Clemens Warnke

  • Mike P. Wattjes

  • Benedikt Wiestler

  • Brigitte Wildemann

  • Uwe Zimmermann

  • Klaus Gehring

  • Achim Berthele

  • Bernhard Hemmer

  • July 14, 2026

Share

Objective:

To evaluate real-world Radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) management practices across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and identify key gaps for future guideline development.

Approach:
  • Survey Design: An anonymous online survey was conducted among neurologists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to assess RIS diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring practices.
  • Participant Recruitment: Board-certified neurologists were invited to participate using a snowball sampling method, with a total of 127 respondents included in the analysis.
  • Data Analysis: Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reporting categorical variables as frequencies and percentages.
Key Findings:
  • Diagnostic practices were relatively uniform, with over 85% performing comprehensive MRI and CSF analysis.
  • Awareness and implementation of the 2023 RIS criteria varied: 34% consistent use, 42% partial implementation, 16% non-adoption, and 8% unaware.
  • 54% of clinicians considered therapy initiation, but 69% treated less than 25% of their RIS cases.
  • 72% of respondents lacked standardized treatment algorithms.
  • Key barriers included reimbursement challenges (61%), patient communication difficulties (42%), and limited access to specialists.
Interpretation:

Real-world RIS care in the DACH region shows substantial practice heterogeneity alongside shared clinical approaches.

Limitations:
  • The survey may not capture all neurologists in the DACH region, potentially limiting the generalizability of findings.
  • Responses may be influenced by individual clinician biases and experiences.
Conclusion:

The findings reveal critical unmet needs in RIS management.

Original Source(s)

Real-world practices and challenges of radiologically isolated syndrome: results of a cross-sector survey by the DACH MS guidelines group

  • by Friederike Held, Antonios Bayas, Katharina Christe, Christian Dettmers, Burkhard Domurath, Juliane Ebert, Edeltraud Faßhauer, Peter Flachenecker, Jutta Gärtner, Dzenita Hasanbasic, Christoph Heesen, Harald Hegen, Thomas Henze, Peter Huppke, Veronika Kana, Michael Khalil, Ruth Kirschner-Hermanns, Thomas Korn, Tania Kümpfel, Sabine Lamprecht, Uwe Meier, Gerd Meyer zu Horste, Mathias Mäurer, Frederike Cosima Oertel, Caroline Pot, Anne-Katrin Pröbstel, Kevin Rostásy, Anke Salmen, Jutta Scheiderbauer, Markus Schmidt, Erwin Stark, Corinna Trebst, Regina Trollmann, Clemens Warnke, Mike P. Wattjes, Benedikt Wiestler, Brigitte Wildemann, Uwe Zimmermann, Klaus Gehring, Achim Berthele, Bernhard Hemmer

  • July 14, 2026

Related Content

Top 10 Evidence-Based Essentials in Neurology

A structured framework of guidelines, trials, therapies, and tools used in clinical practice.

Residual inflammation in the cerebrospinal fluid after short- and long-term natalizumab treatment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Clinical implications of natalizumab Fab-arm exchange in patients with multiple sclerosis