Worried

My son is seven years old and has been having severe migraines. His pediatrician did a MRI and said his has too much white matter and referred us to a specialist. What exactly does this mean n what should be my worries and concerns? Can anyone please help?     Thank you from a worried father

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there. I understand your concerns about your son’s health. It is important to realize that white matter lesions on brain MRI does not necessarily mean MS.  These are seen in numerous other conditions with microvascular ischemic changes in brain. Therefore, these need to be correlated with any high cholesterol levels in your child. Certain infectious and inflammatory lesions also might show white matter signal changes on MRI. The other condition and applicable to you is history of migraine headaches since migraine is also a vascular disorder. Hope you can discuss these possibilities with your child’s neurologist and allay some anxiety. Take care.