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494672 tn?1254152672

Prominent Perivascular spaces

What in the heck?  Just got my doctors reoprts from my MRI & they said these were incidentially noted bilaterally in the temporal lobes.

Can anyone she some light on this for me?

Thanks,
Janette
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Avatar universal
does anyone know the significance of:

Prominent perivascular spaces are present centrally

recorded on an mri of the brain

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Avatar universal

           Please Dr., or anyone who can give me some information on "A Perivascular spaces in Left Paritotemporal lobe..Five yrs ago I had a left mastectomy and 7 Lymph Nodes remouved and - 2 breast silicon implants surgeries--Since the breast implant surgeries my body is twiching, nummnesson my left arm/breast. Since September2011  I loose weight, my vision is blurry,legs, arm'mussecles look like disapear,memory problems. I'm scare...MRI-Perivascularspacesin left paritontemporal lobe

                       Oh..I Never, Ever have had BREAST CANCER
Oh!   And I never had A BIOPSY done-plus they remove 7 Lymph Node for NO RESON and cut my BREAST to the BONE. It's wonderful we can take careof each other and many Doctors that just stand up by their proffessionand care.
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494672 tn?1254152672
THANKS!  Maybe that is why I FEEL old  :)

Janette
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147426 tn?1317265632
Incidental usually means "also found and not concerning."  No, those spaces would not cause anything.  They are the "result" of some process, not the cause.  It sounds like this radioliogist was just mentioning them to be complete in his description of the brain.

However...., on my first two MRIs of the brain, my one, solitary, lonely MS plaque was passed off "incidentally" as a UBO (Unidentified Bright Object).  So, an abnormality which is important may be recognized by someone as an abnormality, but the importance may not be recognized.

In this case I don't know.  I have seen the study (brought to our attention by DeeBee) of the increased incidence of these spaces in MS (presumably due to brain atrophy), but all the neuros we have heard comment on them, say they are not important.  My reading says they are not normal in young people.  Young was not defined.  Usually, in talking about these "brain things," young is less than 50.  I just love being elderly....

Just thoughts.  I really can't tell you anything for sure.

Quix
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494672 tn?1254152672
Thanks for looking into this for me.  The report says incidental but I took that to mean it was something that they found but were not looking for.  So since it was not unusual I should not worry about it.  In your expert opinion :) do you think it could be causing numbness, twitching & nausea?

Thanks again.

BTW - I loved that pic of yoour kitty on the potty.  If only it would have been that easy to train my kids  :0)

Janette
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147426 tn?1317265632
Well, I did a little reading on Virchow-Robin spaces and this is what I found.  It is common in the elderly as the brain atrophies (Right on, Jen!).  It can also occur acutely with trauma and infection, but should resolve.  

It is NEVER normal in the younger person!  I assume this means the under 50 set.  I don't know when it becomes acceptable.

So, my next step would be to ask the radiologist if he thought it was an incidental (insignificant) finding, or was it unusual?

Quix
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494672 tn?1254152672
Thanks for the post.  That explains lots - my brain is shrinking  :)  Maybe that is why I have lost weight - smaller brain :0)

Janette
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338416 tn?1420045702
I believe the larger periventricular spaces are thought to be because of brain atrophy in MS, which is a silent problem.  The brain is losing neurons constantly, and the brain shrinks to compensate for the space created - so your brain is slowly shrinking in volume.  

Many people who remain undiagnosed have these larger spaces, or more space between the brain and the skull than is normal.  Kinda sad, isn't it?  (Don't get me started!)
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494672 tn?1254152672
Thanks ladies for the post!  I like the idea of going to the radiologist - at this point it sure couldn't hurt.  I have been sent back to my PCP who has not even a clue what to do!  I will dig deeper & not let them get the best of me :)

Rena - thanks for checking with DB on this - you are great!

Janette
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147426 tn?1317265632
I remember covering this topic with DeeBee.  There is quite a bit in the literature about dilated perivascular spaces (also called something like Virchow-Robin spaces) being more common in MS.  This was research literature and it has not apparently been accepted as a reliable indicator of MS.  The docs in practice do not seem to know anything about it.  Might be interesting to put in a call to the radiologist (or have your PCP do it) to ask if the radiologist knows any significance to the finding.  I wonder if one specialty is clued into it and the other (neurology) is not.

Quix
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335728 tn?1331414412
I asked db about this and she replied that she recalls asking her dr. about it but was basically told that it was nothing to worry about in her case...I hope that it is the same with you but you should ask you pcp about it if nothing more than to give you some peace of mind on the subject ok?  Sorry I couldn't be of much help...

Lots of Hugs,

Rena
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494672 tn?1254152672
I am waiting to get into my PCP but today I picked up my file from the Neuro. (which I would not have thought about doing before coming to this forum & it was MUCH easier than I thought it would be  :)  I am going to take this report with me to the PCP & see what is happening next.  I know he will mpt think that this is an issue since the Neuro didn't.  Can you believe that they lost my report for the spinal tap?  UUUUHHHHH - not doing that again if I can help it!

Thanks Lulu
Janette
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572651 tn?1530999357
So I take it the doctor left you in limbo for a while longer?  Or have you not seen the doctor yet?

Just wondering,
Lulu
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494672 tn?1254152672
Thanks for the information.  My doctors did not even mention it to me - I found it in the report.  Hoping to learn more about it WITHOUT the doctor I guess!  Glad I got the report & for the help of those on this forum.

Have an awesome night!

Hugs in return,

Janette
Helpful - 0
335728 tn?1331414412
Hey girl...I googled this and came up with the following,,,

The perivascular spaces adjacent to MS lesions are shown to be abnormally prominent. We believe this sign may be secondary to increased inflammatory activity initially resulting in dilatation of the perivascular spaces. This may provide a sign to differentiate primary from secondary causes of demyelination, as well as serve as a useful marker of disease activity and progression.

I also discovered that I provided db with this same information way back when and it didn't help her much but I also have asked db if she can provide you with further information on this as it is something she has dealt with in the past...hope this helps!

Lots of Hugs,

Rena  
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335728 tn?1331414412
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