MRI RESULTS

My husband feeling dizzy and weak and just feels tired to his legs. a couple of times he would feel he's arm feel numb and he's vision blurred. he had a mri of the brain and it said there are a few small rounded areas of signal abnormality within the subcorical white matter frontal lobes, left more so than right. while findings are nonspecific, this can be seen in association with migraine headaches, DEMYLINATING DISEASE,OR VASCULITIS in light of patients age. the brain is otherwise of normal morphology and signal intensity.  IMPRESSION minimal subcortical white matter signal abnormality as discussed unremarkable mri of the brain otherwise. My husband does smoke but has cut down alot and says he feels better but is not rid of the dizziness completly. states he feels it more when he smokes.

[Christopher R Newey, DO]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with a doctor.

Without the ability to examine and obtain a history, I can not tell you what the exact cause of the symptoms is. However I will try to provide you with some useful information.

There are multiple causes for white matter changes on brain MRI as you describe. One being plaques, or small vessel disease, in the brain, which are diseased small vessels that supply blood flow to the brain. This is not an uncommon process in the brain and increases with age. This is not a disease in and of itself but rather is a reflection of unhealthy blood vessels, damaged by years of plaque build-up. This is most often due to a combination of several factors including the following: high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and high cholesterol. If these factors are well controlled, the damage to the brain can be stabilized and further damage prevented.

Other causes of plaques in the brain can be migraine. People with migraine often have plaques on their MRI that are of unclear cause or significance.

Other causes of plaques on MRI can usually be distinguished based on history and symptoms, such as symptoms of neurologic deficit (for example arm weakness or difficulty walking etc). These can also be distinguished based on the MRI appearance. These include, but are not limited to, multiple sclerosis, other demyelinating disease, and inflammatory processes such as vasculitis.

I suggest that your husband discuss his brain MRI with the ordering physician.

Thank you for this opportunity to answer your questions, I hope you find the information I have provided useful, good luck.