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White Matter Disease

Hi,
My mother, who is 58, was just diagnosed with white matter disease. She was having pulsing in her eye and had a MRI done. I have read that you can reduce your risk by eating right, exercise and keeping your blood pressure at a normal rate. My mother already does all of these things and leads a very healthy life style. I am wonder what to expect form this disease and how long it takes for any symptoms to show up.
Thank you, Nicole
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368886 tn?1466235284
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi.

Is this your first MRI? If there was an earlier MRI, is there any change in the findings. That will be more important to know.

It will be difficult to interpret the significance of the lesions only on the report. But if you have any significant symptoms, these are probably due to pressure changes in the brain. There is asymmetry of the choroid plexus, which is not normal. There is white matter disease.

The lesions are most probably due to arteriosclerosis. You may have some blood pressure issues. Have you been monitoring your blood pressure?

You will need to monitor the size of the aneurysm and keep blood pressure under control to prevent any rupture in the future.

Regards
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Avatar universal
i had a mri and the results came back scattered ,punctate intr-axial t2 hyperintensities identififed.these are likely mild areteriossclerortic change.a small asymmetric nodular filling defect within the midleft lateral ventricle presumed asymmetry of the choroid plexus.there is  white matter diease.also an small aneurysm.it measures 0.4 x0.2 cm  .
can anyone tell me what is in store for me .
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333021 tn?1207759633
Thank you very much for your response.  This does help .
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368886 tn?1466235284
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello Jo.

Your symptoms are varied and I can not diagnose you on this forum, as I have not examined you. But I will try to make the MRI report easy for you.

The T2 part is a technical term about the way an image is taken in MRI. You need not go into it. Anything that is not gelling with the background (like a tumor, a collection of fluid, a scar tissue, etc. ) will be seen as "hyperintense" on MRI.

As mentioned earlier, grey matter ( the cortex) has nerve cell bodies and the white matter ( which is below the grey matter) has the tails of the cells.

What the report says is that the hyperintensities seen are non specific. They can not be attributed to a particular cause. But their location in the brain suggests some problems with the small blood vessels (micro-angio-pathy). Hence, it appears that these are due to a blood vessel problem ( loss of blood supply, resulting in death of nerve cells).

But there is also a possibility of demyelination. De-myelination means destruction of the protective covering (myelin sheath) of the nerve cells.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Helpful - 0
333021 tn?1207759633
I'm 57, female.Have had sx. two yrs. Started with fatigue. Had root canal and sx.s started within days : gait , balance , cog. ,speech (finding the right words) saying thing not intended. Got better in five months ,  fatigue returned in four months. Then five months more gait again balance and now buzzing in face and pressure in and around eyes. Then buzzing ing lower lf leg , some buzzing in rt. toes. Still having the cog.fog Sensitivity to light and sound.  Difficulty swallowing .  Vision blurry. This brings me up to 12-07 , for several wks most of sx.s subsided, a couple of days ago tingling in left leg with a banding feeling in left foot VERY uncomfortable ( in the fall I had electrical feeling in arms hands , with a general , Now somewhat of a banding in left hand )Numbness in lf. leg....  so....

MRIScattered foci of T2 hyperintense signal in the subcortical white matter at the mid convexities of both hemispheres. There is a mild involvement of the middle frontal gyral subcortical zone.   Impression:    nonspecific, but by location are suggestive of chronic microangiopathic changes. Demyelinating disease cannot be ruled out  and clinical correlation advised.

Dr. could you please tell me what this says in laymans terms      I eat well (organics ) exercise everyday Don't smoke or drink.

Thanks        Jo
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi Nicole.

White matter disease is a recent term. Whereas, the Grey matter of brain has all the nerve cell bodies, white matter has the long extensions of the nerve cells, called 'axons'. The axons in the white matter connect different areas of the grey matter.

What you should watch out in your mother is any loss of decision making abilities. The white matter disease steals your ability to plan and solve problems.

Please consult a Neurologist for your mother. You may get a Neuro-psychological testing done.

Regards

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