Early abnormalities of evoked potentials and future disability in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Evoked potentials (EP) have a role in making the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) but their implication for predicting the future disease course in MS is under debate. EP data of 94 MS patients examined at first presentation, and after five and ten years were retrospectively analysed. Patients were divided into two groups in relation to the prior duration of disease at the time point of first examination: group 1 patients (n=44) were first examined within two years after disease onset, and group 2 patients (n=50) at later time points.