What are white spots on cervical MRI?

“White matter hyperintensities,” or lesions the appear bright white on certain sequences of MRI scans. “Leukoaraiosis,” a term that is used if the spots are thought to be caused by decreased blood flow. “Nonspecific white matter changes”

Can white matter lesions be nothing?

White matter lesions observed on brain MRI are usually characteristic and occur in specific areas including the corpus callosum and pons. “However, in many cases, the white matter lesions as isolated observations are nonspecific” and could be due to MS or another cause, explained Drs Lange and Melisaratos.

What does white matter look like on MRI?

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, which takes pictures of the inside of your brain, can show any damage. Changes to white matter will show up super-bright white (your doctor may call this “hyperintense”) on an MRI scan. You may need more tests to rule out other causes.

Are white matter lesions serious?

Serious consequences of periventricular white matter lesions — this is the scary part. There is strong evidence that cerebral white matter lesions impair brain function, and in particular impair thinking ability and walking.

Is mild white matter disease normal?

Originally, white matter disease was considered a normal, age-related change. But over the last decade, medical experts have come to understand that the presence of large areas of disease in the white matter of the brain are associated with cognitive decline and dementia in patients.

Does everyone have white matter lesions?

Combining these three studies together, it is clear that small (punctate) white matter lesions are extremely common, they are found in roughly half of the otherwise healthy population in their 40’s, and WML increase with age.

Does everyone have white matter in the brain?

“Gray matter” is only one of two types of brain tissue; the other “white matter” is rarely mentioned. Yet white matter makes up half the human brain and has not been thought to be important in cognition or learning outside the context of pathology.