Hi Footprints (and Garney) ,

If a person has symptoms of MS, and their MRI shows lesions, this should certainly give reason for a Neuro to check out the possibility.

MS can be quite difficult to dx, and it can take many years. A Neuro will look at the patient's history of symptoms/apparent relapses, do a clinical examination (test for neurological deficit), then generally send them for an MRI, if warranted.

"Lesions" just means "damage to the brain". They are looking for a specific size, shape and location to determine whether they are likely to be of the MS-variety. Lesions can have many causes (some of which were discussed on that website), so it would be up to the radiologist/neurologist to determine if these were likely "MS" lesions.

Even if MS was suspected, many Neurologists take a "wait and see" approach (especially if there are other health factors that would be more likely be the cause of symptoms/lesions). They will often monitor a patient, wait for another episode, or another MRI, then review the prior information.

If I were in Garney's situation, I would first make an attempt to find out why the doctor/neuro thinks that these lesions are from aging. The MRI report findings should give some indication of why this is the best guess at this point in time, i.e. what exactly were the reported findings?

There is also other tests they can do, if warranted; Evoked potentials, spinal tap, etc.

If I had any question beyond that, I would visit another Neuro for a second opinion. If the finding are questionable, then it may come down to a situation of wait and see (or more testing). In the meantime, it is worth keeping a journal of symptoms/changes on a daily basis.

Attached is a list of the more some common symptoms of MS:

http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/mssymptoms.html

Cherie