Christina Applegate Reveals 2021 MS Misdiagnosis, Returning to Square One

Q: After years of MS advocacy, what mysterious illness is actually causing Christina Applegate’s severe neurological symptoms?

It is not yet known. Applegate said new testing showed she was misdiagnosed and does not have multiple sclerosis, but doctors have not identified the illness actually causing her severe neurological symptoms. What is clear is that she remains seriously ill. On her “MeSsy” podcast, Applegate said she still has what she described as every symptom of MS, including major mobility problems, and that her condition has not improved despite the revised diagnosis. She told listeners she feels “back at square one,” confused and frightened because the label changed but the disability did not. The reporting and related medical context suggest only that physicians are now investigating other disorders that can mimic MS. Those can include conditions such as CADASIL, neuromyelitis optica, transverse myelitis, ADEM, infections and other inflammatory or neurological diseases. But no credible report in the material provided says Applegate has been diagnosed with any of those. So the direct answer is that the illness remains a mystery for now. Applegate’s doctors are still searching for the real cause of her symptoms, and she has not publicly named a replacement diagnosis.

2 articles · Updated · Variety · Oct 20

Seven months after pausing her “MeSsy” podcast, Christina Applegate said new technology showed she was misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis and that doctors are now looking for another cause.
Applegate said the news brought no physical relief because her symptoms persist and in some ways have worsened, leaving her “back at square one” without an explanation.
Five years into the illness, she said the reversal has left her shocked, depressed and feeling she “lost everything,” including her acting career, while she still needs a wheelchair for some medical visits.
Applegate disclosed an MS diagnosis in 2021, retired from acting after “Dead to Me” ended in 2022, and later became a prominent advocate through the podcast she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler.