Ms symptoms mri brain
Common Questions and Answers about Ms symptoms mri brain
multiple-sclerosis
I was told by a Doctor the trick with MS is lesions do not always correspond with symptoms. In MS a lot of damage is gray matter damage which does not show up on an MRI. I was told the rule of thumb for Neurologists is the symptoms lie equal or below the damage. So if you only had leg symptoms they would do an MRI of the spine. With left arm it would be cervical or brain. With it being left sided it could be on the right side of the brain or where signals cross the brain.
However, she did send me for a brain mri. Brain mri indicated small right temporal lobe lesion, which neuro felt would not cause my symptoms. I am frustrated as the neuro advised she cannot give a diagnosis on one small lesion. Neuro will do cervical spine mri along with a second brain mri (I live in Ontario and there is a backlog of 6-12 months for this). Would someone please give me some advice. Do MS lesions sometimes not show in brain mri, and only on spine mri?
Hi, I'm new here and 36 years old.
About 2 months ago, I began having tightness and weakness in my right hand/arm and though it might have been from computer over-use. The following week, my left side of my body began feeling off balance, like being pulled toward my left side and also pulled back, feeling wobbly walking, and my hands/ arms began to feel clumsy, awkward.
The lesions on your brain can be many things. First MS is a possibility since your symptoms maybe compatible with MS. It all depends if the MRI lesions are also descriptive of MS. Other possibilities include primary or metastatic brain tumors. The appearance of these tumors on MRI are distinct and can be differentiated from MS. Infections can also cause lesions in the brain such as cryptococcus, brain abscess, and tuberculosis.
Although MRI is a very useful diagnostic tool, a normal MRI of the brain does not rule out the possibility of MS. About 5% of people who are confirmed to have MS do not initially have brain lesions on MRI. However, the longer a person goes without brain or spinal cord lesions on MRI, the more important it becomes to look for other possible diagnoses.
Have you had any labs done? Any other testing done?
Are you responding to the Neurontin at all?
The various causes of brain lesions on an MRI are brain aneurysm, brain arteriovenous malformation, brain tumor, hydrocephalus, stroke, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. A strong degree of suspicion needs to be kept for multiple sclerosis. . Multiple sclerosis is a chronic demyelinating neurological disorder where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion.
I then went to one Neurologist who said my brain MRI was clear of lesions and said I did not have MS, but rather Spina Bifida with Hydrocephalus. I did not agree, nor did my family doc. with his diagnosis, so I went to another neurologist who also said my brain mri was clear, but I might have MS. He said he wanted to wait and see and do another scan in 6 months. My chest pain on left side around to my back is daily along with my ear and throat.
MS cannot be diagnosed by MRI alone. The revised (2010) McDonald Criteria sets out the formula, if you will, for diagnosing this disease. Further, MS is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning that its many mimics (eg Lyme disease, Lupus, Myasthenia Gravis, Sjogren's Syndrome, B12 deficiency, etc etc etc) for which there are more conclusive tests, must be ruled out.
Wiki has a good overview of the McDonald Criteria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald_criteria#Revised_Diagnostic_Criteria_.
Is that consistant with symptoms of MS? If its my right brain affected would it cause symptoms on my left side and right eye?
I'm really lost in all this right now and I'm not sure if I will be taken serriously by my doctor. Everything is very confusing. I'm trying to become as educated as I can so I can help understanding and get a correct diagnosis.
s sign I was told, so they did an MRI. When I looked that up I was scared I might have MS, but a brain MRI was negative. I still (2 years later) have the leg numbness when I walk quickly or for more than 10 minutes or so. I have some degenerative cervical and lumbar spine discs, (with inflammation) and have had severe pain off and on for over 5 years. Should I pursue a possible MS evaluation? Could I be one of the 5 % without a positive MRI?
Are you seeing a Neurologist? The Neurologist can do a simple neurological exam, reflexes and such and determine if you need a cervical MRI. The Neurologist can tell from a neurological exam if and where you have damage to to your nervous system. They are very good at it. A MRI neither rules MS in or out. A MRI can show "Lesions" it is up to a Neurologist to determine what the lesions might be. It is a piece to a puzzle.
Hi and welcome,
Your post has come up on the MS community and the opinions 'here' are not professional but personal opinions from our own knowledge and experiences and if you're really looking for a professional opinion you may need to post your question in the neurology doctor forum, which you will find at the top of your screen under 'Forums'.
For diagnosis of MS you would need to have an MRI brain scan, blood eliminatoin tests, possibly Visual Evoked Potential Tests and maybe a lumber puncture (although this is not always required). However the best thing you can do is to keep a diary of all your symptoms and when you experience them to build up a history.
On a personal note, my primary doctor thought in June that my symptoms were MS related... had a brain MRI and found couple minor spots but more indicative of migraine or a knock to the head (like car accident where you crack your head on the side door or such). So, the first neuro ruled out MS based on the brain MRI. Sent me bouncing around to not sure how many doctors over the next several months.
Recommended
