Can white matter lesions in the brain 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 lesions on the brain mean?

Small strokes are the most common cause of white spots on a brain MRI. Small strokes are often caused by blockages of small blood vessels due to high blood pressure and/or diabetes. Large strokes are usually caused by heart disease or carotid artery disease.

What does it mean when you have white matter on a brain MRI?

White matter disease is commonly detected on brain MRI of aging individuals as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), or ‘leukoaraiosis.” Over the years it has become increasingly clear that the presence and extent of WMH is a radiographic marker of small cerebral vessel disease and an important predictor of the life- …

What causes white matter lesions on the brain?

What diseases cause brain lesions? Stroke, vascular injury, or impaired supply of blood to the brain is perhaps the leading cause of lesions on the brain. Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease where brain lesions are located in multiple sites of the brain.

Do white matter lesions go away?

Sometimes, WMHs go away—for example, if an infection is cured or a tumor removed. Sometimes, the white lesions improve, but then worsen. This can occur with an episodic, inflammatory condition like lupus, which can cycle between periods of inflammation and remission.

What is the life expectancy of someone with white matter disease?

It is not possible to stop disease progression, and it is typically fatal within 6 months to 4 years of symptom onset. People with the juvenile form of metachromatic leukodystrophy, which develops between the age of 4 and adolescence, may live for many years after diagnosis.

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.

What diseases cause white matter lesions?

Medical, lifestyle, and other risk factors that play a role in white matter disease include:

• chronic hypertension.
• diabetes.
• genetics.
• high cholesterol.
• history of stroke.
• inflammation of the blood vessels.
• Parkinson’s disease.
• smoking.

Can stress cause white matter lesions?

Neuroscientists at a UC Berkeley lab have uncovered evidence that a well-known stress hormone trips a switch in stem cells in the brain, causing them to produce a white matter cell that ultimately can change the way circuits are connected in the brain.

Can anxiety cause white matter lesions?

Conclusions: Non-clinical individuals with high anxiety already have white matter alterations in the thalamus-cortical circuit and some emotion-related areas that were widely reported in anxiety-related disorders. The altered white matter may be a vulnerability marker in individuals at high risk of clinical anxiety.

Does everyone have white matter in the brain?

Almost one half of the brain’s volume is not gray but white matter, the densely packed collection of myelinated (insulated) projections of neurons that course between widely dispersed gray matter areas.

Is it normal to have white matter lesions?

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.

What does MRI showing white spots in brain indicate?

The white spots in the brain indicate areas which have been damaged. If the MRI was not done with contrast, it may be helpful. The visual evoked potential is another method to detect damage to the white matter of the brain. Another test which may need to be performed is a spinal tap with analysis of the fluid.

What do MRI findings of white matter lesions indicate?

White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are lesions in the brain that show up as areas of increased brightness when visualised by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). WMH’s are also referred to as Leukoaraiosis and are often found in CT or MRI’s of older patients. The prevailing view is that these intensities are a marker of small-vessel vascular disease and in clinical practice, are indicative of cognitive and emotional dysfunction , particularly in the ageing population.

What increases white matter in the brain?

Eat well to increase white matter. Omega-3 fatty acids both protect the brain and promote improved cognition and memory, reports Dr. Julius Goepp of Life Extension Foundation . Adults who take in more omega-3 fatty acids have more brain matter and more functional brains, according to a 2007 study published in “Neuroscience.”.

Can some white spots on brain MRI be OK?

There are several causes of white spots on a brain MRI, including small strokes, migraines, multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus, B12 deficiency, a brain tumor such as lymphoma, or an infection such as Lyme disease or HIV. 1  They are usually found in the brain’s white matter, typically near the ventricles, but they can be located anywhere in the brain.