THE doctor who first identified Hughes Syndrome is urgently calling for more routine blood testing.

Dr Graham Hughes says without routine blood tests hundreds of people are potentially wrongly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).

He estimates five per cent of MS sufferers may have been misdiagnosed and are in fact suffering from Hughes, which is more easily treated.

Dr Hughes recommends two simple blood tests should be routinely offered to any MS patient who has suffered recurring headaches, problems with clots such as deep vein thrombosis, a family history of autoimmune diseases, or who has had recurrent miscarriage.

He feels if GPs do not develop a deeper knowledge of the condition many more patients will be wrongly diagnosed.