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White matter on the brain
Hi, actually I have lot's of questions,but this is the main one.I suffer from a lot of things-vertigo,chronic pain through out my body,double vision,muscle weakness,to name a few.I've had 3 MRI'S of the brain,each 2 yrs. apart.All show white matter in area's of the brain.Had a lumbar puncture,MS was ruled out.I was told it's FMS.But, I can't get a clear answer about the spots on my brain.Why ar they there and will they affect me some how?I sure would appreciate any info. you can give me.Many Thanks
Hi Doc. Love the service you all provide here. I have a question for you.
I'm posting on behalf of my wife. Whe is 37 year old white female. We have two children age 3 1/2 and 1 1/2. Here is a cronology of events:
1. Two months ago, while recovering from a nasty flu, my wife was getting back onto our bed at night, and she missed the bed and hit her lower back and her head on our wood bed frame. She was knocked out for approximately 15 seconds. She has no memory of being knocked out. We did not know she had a concussion until several weeks went by and we discussed the events of that night. In mean time, we took our kids to a amusment park and my wife rode in a roller-coaster which jostled her around a lot. After the roller-coaster ride is when her symptoms started appearing.
2. About a month after the concussion, she started getting tingling and numbness in her left hand and left foot. Getting worried about her condition, she saw her GP. Her GP indicated that the symptoms may be a start of MS. Needless to say, my wife was frightened!
3. Had an MRI of the head done on 12/4/99. The results indicated that she had slight deterioration of the "white matters" on her right lumbor (sp?). Her GP said this could very well be an indication of MS and referred her to a Neurologist (the earliest appointment with the Neurologist we can get is almost a month away!). In mean time, my wife is so scared her symptoms are getting worse when she thinks about them.
4. Now the tingling and numbness is flip-flopping between her right side and her left side. However, the symptoms does not appear all of the time. Somedays, she does not have any of the symptoms all day long. Other times, it only lasts for couple of minutes or longer.
Sorry for being long winded. My questions to you are:
a. Can the concussion she suffered two months ago cause the symptoms she is currently having?
b. Can the deterioration of the "white matter" be normal? How can they say the "white matter" has deteriorated when there is no baseline to measure against?
c. If her diagnosis is MS (understanding that MS is a clinical diagnosis), is there anyway to determine the severity of MS?
The unknown is the worst affliction that we have now. Due to the uncertainty, both my wife and I are very very scared. Any information/advise on my wife's affliction will greatly help us.
Thank You so much for your service,
Skip Chang (Worried husband in Colorado Springs)
I'm posting on behalf of my wife. Whe is 37 year old white female. We have two children age 3 1/2 and 1 1/2. Here is a cronology of events:
1. Two months ago, while recovering from a nasty flu, my wife was getting back onto our bed at night, and she missed the bed and hit her lower back and her head on our wood bed frame. She was knocked out for approximately 15 seconds. She has no memory of being knocked out. We did not know she had a concussion until several weeks went by and we discussed the events of that night. In mean time, we took our kids to a amusment park and my wife rode in a roller-coaster which jostled her around a lot. After the roller-coaster ride is when her symptoms started appearing.
2. About a month after the concussion, she started getting tingling and numbness in her left hand and left foot. Getting worried about her condition, she saw her GP. Her GP indicated that the symptoms may be a start of MS. Needless to say, my wife was frightened!
3. Had an MRI of the head done on 12/4/99. The results indicated that she had slight deterioration of the "white matters" on her right lumbor (sp?). Her GP said this could very well be an indication of MS and referred her to a Neurologist (the earliest appointment with the Neurologist we can get is almost a month away!). In mean time, my wife is so scared her symptoms are getting worse when she thinks about them.
4. Now the tingling and numbness is flip-flopping between her right side and her left side. However, the symptoms does not appear all of the time. Somedays, she does not have any of the symptoms all day long. Other times, it only lasts for couple of minutes or longer.
Sorry for being long winded. My questions to you are:
a. Can the concussion she suffered two months ago cause the symptoms she is currently having?
b. Can the deterioration of the "white matter" be normal? How can they say the "white matter" has deteriorated when there is no baseline to measure against?
c. If her diagnosis is MS (understanding that MS is a clinical diagnosis), is there anyway to determine the severity of MS?
The unknown is the worst affliction that we have now. Due to the uncertainty, both my wife and I are very very scared. Any information/advise on my wife's affliction will greatly help us.
Thank You so much for your service,
Skip Chang (Worried husband in Colorado Springs)
Dear Kathie:
It is difficult to tell you whether your stroke and migraine headaches after the birth of your first child are related. There are many reasons for stroke after birth and I am sure that these possibilities were investigated thoroughly at that time. There is a small percentage of people who have migraines who are more prone to stroke, and this might fit you. However, before making this conclusion, you need to be evaluated by a good neurologist. As far as ADHD and dyslexia, likely migraine is not an associated. The reasons for each are alittle different and the exact etiology is currently unknown. However, far more people have migraine than either of these two entities as addults and the cross-over or people having both or all three is very uncommon.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
It is difficult to tell you whether your stroke and migraine headaches after the birth of your first child are related. There are many reasons for stroke after birth and I am sure that these possibilities were investigated thoroughly at that time. There is a small percentage of people who have migraines who are more prone to stroke, and this might fit you. However, before making this conclusion, you need to be evaluated by a good neurologist. As far as ADHD and dyslexia, likely migraine is not an associated. The reasons for each are alittle different and the exact etiology is currently unknown. However, far more people have migraine than either of these two entities as addults and the cross-over or people having both or all three is very uncommon.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
Hi, I have had migains for as long as I can remember. I had felt very sick after my daughter in 1991 and the doctors put me on birthcontrol pills. as weeks went by I had lose of visson on the left side of both eyes my head was going to explode at lest it felt like it. had some numbness on the left side of my top lip and some of my cheak. then everything started going away, back to normal. I went to the doctor and he wrote it as a minie stroke. I got off the birthcontrol. Everything seemed to be fine. Had my son in 1996 things went bad again. They found endemetreosis (sorry about the spelling) Had sugury full historactomy. I still have problems with migrains and at time I will either feel weak or alittle shaky and I also have ADHD and Dyslexica the computer bothers me and the sunlight. could these be conected together or different problems.
Hi,thanks for your fast reply.I'm sending you the findings on the MRI resultes,which I should have done in the first place.(sorry)It says-There are a few foci of increasad signal in the cerebral white matter,which are not normal at age 33,These are nonspecific and of uncertain significance.They do not have the typical location of areas of demyelinating plaques,and might be some minor post-ischemic/inflammatory changes.Could you explain this to me?Thank you very much for your time.
Dear Pam:
It is difficult to tell you what they may be. I would say, the the most likely scenerio is that they are just a finding of no consequence. However, if you have high blood pressure, they might represent small infarct (unlikely as these are usually in the basal ganglion region. But based on what you give me, I would think that they are just UBOs (see your previous posting).
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
It is difficult to tell you what they may be. I would say, the the most likely scenerio is that they are just a finding of no consequence. However, if you have high blood pressure, they might represent small infarct (unlikely as these are usually in the basal ganglion region. But based on what you give me, I would think that they are just UBOs (see your previous posting).
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
Dear Pam:
I am not sure what you mean by white matter. White matter is normal, it is the myelin surround axons in the axonal tracts of the brain. There is a difference with white matter and hyperintensities on MRI scan. Probably you mean the latter. Sometimes the hyperintensities are part of the aging process and can be seen in even younger people (late twenties). They are usually of no consequence. We often see them routinely on MRI scans of people who are getting scans for reasons not necessarily to MS. If hyperintensities are in areas that we question about MS, such as the temporal horns or periventricular regions then they may be a harbinger of MS, IF the clinical symptoms fit. They have come to have the name of unidentified bright objects or UBOs if they are just a nonspecific finding.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
I am not sure what you mean by white matter. White matter is normal, it is the myelin surround axons in the axonal tracts of the brain. There is a difference with white matter and hyperintensities on MRI scan. Probably you mean the latter. Sometimes the hyperintensities are part of the aging process and can be seen in even younger people (late twenties). They are usually of no consequence. We often see them routinely on MRI scans of people who are getting scans for reasons not necessarily to MS. If hyperintensities are in areas that we question about MS, such as the temporal horns or periventricular regions then they may be a harbinger of MS, IF the clinical symptoms fit. They have come to have the name of unidentified bright objects or UBOs if they are just a nonspecific finding.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro MD
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