How to better identify multiple system atrophy

Multiple system atrophy(MSA) can be easily misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease(PD) or other forms of atypical Parkinsonism, because they not only share similar pathological changes but also present many common clinical manifestations, which make early diagnosis difficult.How to better identify MSA plays a decisive role in subsequent treatment and should concern physicians.The aim of this review is to examine the autonomic nervous dysfunction and its early clinical manifestations, detection methods, and imaging characteristics of MSA, and thus to provide helpful guidelines for the early diagnosis of MSA. Key words: Multiple system atrophy; Diagnosis