Patients who develop multiple sclerosis (MS) might exhibit prodromal symptoms that depend on the disease subtype, according to a new paper. Wijnands et al. examined physician encounters during the 5 years before symptom onset in 1,887 patients with relapsing-onset MS (RMS), 171 patients with primary progressive MS (PPMS) and 9,837 matched population controls. The number of physician visits did not differ between the two MS subgroups, or between each subgroup and their controls. However, the types of visit did differ. Patients with RMS or PPMS had increased numbers of neurologist, ophthalmologist and otolaryngologist visits compared with controls. Patients with RMS had more dermatologist visits than either controls or patients with PPMS, and patients with PPMS had more nervous system-related visits than those with RMS.