MRI results
 

I had my MRI with contrast yesterday. My report says Stable nonspecific white matter disease. There is no evidence of abnormal enhancement to suggest metastatic disease. Is this a catchall phrase for "I don't know what it is?" My neurologist was ready to pass me off to an ENT even though I have tingling all over my body. I was hoping this MRI would provide some answers. :(

I would suggest discussing the MRI findings with your Neurologist.

The "impression" section of the MRI report will usually list the possibilities of findings on MRI. It is up to your Neurologist, based on your medical history, other testing, symptoms and Neurological exam to determine a diagnosis of something or refer you to other specialists for their determination.

Best wishes.

hi and welcome to NT,

i couldn't have said it better than snoopy.
what does the report say under "impression"?

Impression: 1. Stable nonspecific white matter disease. 2. There is no evidence of abnormal enhancement to suggest metastatic disease.

I saw my neurologist today. He said there is nothing wrong with my nervous system so there was nothing he could do for me. He was ready to send me on my way. I asked him if I was just supposed to live with my symptoms which currently are imbalance, various tingling body parts, fatigue and no appetite. He then offered to refer me to UCSF. So that is my next step.

Please let us know how that goes, Blancaboo.:hug:

Hi Blancaboo,

I don't quite understand, I guess. The neurologist said "there is nothing wrong" with your nervous system, and yet the MRI shows "stable nonspecific white matter disease." That's "disease" they're talking about. The second part of the MRI impression just means that you probably don't have a metastatic cancer.

--Which is good news, of course, but the part about "white matter disease" is something you could ask about, maybe along the lines of: "Since you say there's nothing wrong with my nervous system, what does the MRI report mean when it mentions 'stable nonspecific white matter disease'?"

This seems like a reasonable question to me.

Good luck in your search for answers. Many here have been down the road you're traveling.

As a Special Ed Teacher I'm bursting to address this. Many of my students had secondary diagnosed problems like Neurological Impairment. learning Disabilities, Hyperactivity, etc. MRI can't see everything, provides only"Hard" (white matter, lesions, cysts, tumors,deviations, etc.) information, so look at problems, etc. and devise solution or strategies for coping with those. Work with your Neurologist. Be informed, you are you own best advocate. This is my thought and opinion

My first MRI which technician wrote in his accompanying letter "white matter consistent with age." No neurologist has ever discussed it with me. (and I've been with 5 or 6 at Specialized MS Neurology. My first Neuro now heads the MS Center at Johns Hopkins).

White matter figures in brain connections and is tied with location,MS and age. Talk to your neurologist . (I can Google anything I find and skim for a basic understanding).

Better yet, ask for a second opinion. Bring your actual MRI films (or images on CD with you) to the next doc plus the report. Many of us had to shop around for a neurologist that would listen to us, wasn't a jerk, and/or wasn't incompetent.

I'm a big proponent of being assertive (although not rudely or aggressively) to get answers and quality care.

Good luck. :hug:

When I asked my neurologist what the nonspecific brain disease was, he said "Oh it's just fat or cholesterol deposits." :confused: I don't have confidence in his abilities to diagnose me. I am definitely getting a second opinion.

You need to see another neurologist for a second opinion. The radiologist knows what fat and cholesterol deposits look like and would not call it a "disease". The radiologist would have noted their appearance and said something like "consistent with this age group" or "appearance normal". You need to go to a neuro that will look at your actual scans and not just the report and see what it is that the radiologist is calling a "disease". I suspect that prior to the overall impression, in the report there is also something about small white matter hyperintensities in axial flair imaging...probably in the periventricular white matter or corpus callosum. If so, that is what the radiologist is calling "stable white matter disease". Generally, they would call it stable if it didn't show changes when the contrast was added or if the numbers didn't change from a previous scan.