curious about dx
 

I was just wondering if anyone here had an MRI that said the leasions were not in the typical place for MS? Is there a typical place?

I have a lesion in the rt cerebellum, which is a little unusual. Most people have them in the periventricular area, or in the corpus callosum.

And I trust your word Jen, because I know you to be knowledgeable. Yet I was told by a previous neuro that my lesions were not in a typical area, and they're periventricular.
:confused:
I looked it up on NMSS and found that the neuro was incorrect, this was a typical location. That was part of the reason he became a prior neuro.

"Lesions" is just a generic word for "damage", and not necessarily just damage to the brain. People use the word lesions to describe open wounds sometimes.

Attached is a link to "demyelinating diseases", which describes the various locations of lesions, based on the condition. There is a fair bit of info on MS lesions in this document.

http://spinwarp.ucsd.edu/NeuroWeb/Text/br-840.htm

They are looking for the right size/shape and location of lesions for MS, either in the brain, T or C spine (or all of the above, in my case :p).

Cherie

Cat, my first mri report had a lot of maybes on it, also a notation " given the location a demyelinating disease is not entirely excluded ".

This meant exactly jack to my first 2 neuros, even after lesions were found on the c-spine with a notation " consistent with a demyelinating process such as MS ".

A good neuro is going to do the needed testing to dx it or excluded it and find the true cause. Sometimes a passage of time is needed to confirm.

My brain MRI said that I had little white "spots", but that they were not the typical size or shape and that they were not in an area typical of MS.

I was surprised four months later when I had my spinal MRI's (my regular doctor wanted to see if I had any degenerative disk disease since I was having a lot of back pain) and that's when they found the 2 lesions in my spine. (I'd asked the doctor to order some contrast just so we could check for MS since I was in the MRI machine anyways.)

Yes..I have 11 not in the "typical" place. :confused:

Thanks for all the comments. I had an MRI of brain and cervical spine. The Brain reads like this. Non-enhancing subortical and deep white matter punctuate hymperintensities in both cerebral hemispheres, a non-specific finding with the fifferential diagnosis tha includes MS buth MR findings are not pathognomonic of MS??????
The c-spine: degenerative disc disease with bulging disc annulus at C6-C7 No evidence of demyelinating plaque in cervial cord .

I also had a lumbar puncture which was normal. Iam just tying to wrap my bain around this. I feel like crap but all the docotrs can not come up with a diagnosis. BTW this all started witha b12 defiency.

Yes, my MRI said the lesion/lesions was not in a typical place. The main one mentioned was one in the frontal lobe. It was active at the time, I had two other small old ones that I don't remember where they were because they were barely mentioned on the report.

I'm atypical, too. The neuro says it is definitely demyelinating, but not typical of MS. That is why my dx is CNS Demyelinating Disease - he also calls it atypical MS. I have been told that my particular lesions can be seen in MS, but it is the lack of other more typical lesions that is confusing my case.

So, I have lesions that are seen in people with MS, sx and neuro exam seen in people with MS, some amount of permanent damage, but I'm still a mystery. At lease my neuro treats my sx and has done pulse IVSM which really helped with a lot of the disability I had. A lot of people with less than typical results get dismissed completely.

What I think this means is that they've found non-enhancing lesions (not currently inflamed, could be MS non-active though) that are non-specific (no single known cause), that MIGHT be indicative of MS (MS could be one cause), but not pathognomonic (definitively/necessarily) MS.

http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?non-specific
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathognomonic

What did the neuro say?

Cherie

She said it looks like I do not have MS. Mostly because my protein were not elevated in the lumba puncture. She wants me to see a demyelating specialest in New York at Cornell Hospt.(I don't think I spelled that right)

I was told mine were not in a typical place....FWIW ;)

i am new to this site but i have learned some things. i lose my balance and cannot walk a staight line. i forget what things are called and other things. i went and had a mri done there were white spots on my brain they said they didn't mean anything but from what i'm reading it sounds like maybe i need to make another app. to see him. i thank you for what you have wrote.

Hello Confused. As this is your very first post, I want to welcome you to NeuroTalk.

Seems you have a lot on your mind right now, as worry and concern come through in your post.

I admit it's pretty scary when things like what you have explained happen to us. I was wondering if you've already been diagnosed with MS, or whether you're still going through the process.

Spots in the brain are better known as lesions, and these show up on MRIs. Lesions can indicate MS but there are a lot of other conditions that also cause them (like migraines). That's why I asked if you already have a dignosis or not.

Regardless of the answer to that, I want you to know how welcome you are on NeuroTalk. I'm so glad that you found us, and our MS Forum.

I have lesions in various areas of the brain, some of them not in the "typical" MS places except for the periventricular areas.

I'm not yet dxd with MS, but I do have sxs consistent with it. It's a matter of time, my pcp says. She believes my problems are neurological. The neuro told me in Dec it's borderline MS (like borderline pregnancy?:confused:). His nurse practitioner in Mar. told me it's not MS, it's anxiety and depression. Whatever.:rolleyes:

I guess you have to be assertive with the docs, and also be patient and observant. Do your best to take care of your health, get good rest, eat healthy, and take notes as your sxs come and go.

Great advice, Debbie!

Cherie