Multiple Sclerosis Mri Brain White Matter Lesions
Axons are like the electric wires of the brain says rhonda.
Multiple sclerosis mri brain white matter lesions. There are several causes of white spots on a brain mri including small strokes migraines multiple sclerosis ms lupus b12 deficiency a brain tumor such as lymphoma or an infection such as lyme disease or hiv. White matter lesions though also have been reported in patients with migraine and multiple sclerosis here the lesions have a characteristic distribution in the brain and line the ventricles. 1 they are usually found in the brain s white matter typically near the ventricles but they can be located anywhere in the brain. The images produced allow doctors to see lesions in your cns.
Since myelin coats the nerve fibers that travel through both the brain and the spinal cord demyelination creates lesions in both areas. You can see them in other diseases which involve the blood vessels of the brain causing vasculitis that is inflammation of the blood vessels and this list includes neurosarcoidosis. White matter appears white because the protective wrapping around nerve fibers or axons is a pale fatty tissue called myelin. Ms related lesions appear on mri images as either bright or dark spots depending on the type.
The key question then is whether a patient s mri shows ms like lesions. The role of mri in diagnosing ms if you have symptoms of ms your doctor may order an mri scan of your brain and spinal cord. Mri scans can detect damage in the central nervous system which comprises the brain and spinal cord. Specifically the periventricular lesions and the more peripheral white matter lesions near the gray matter white matter junction are typical mri findings in multiple sclerosis.