What causes white matter lesions on MRI?

What Are White Spots? Spots on a brain MRI are caused by changes in water content and fluid movement that occur in brain tissue when the brain cells are inflamed or damaged. These lesions are more easily seen on T2 weighted images, a term that describes the frequency (speed) of the radio impulses used during your scan.

Does white matter lesions mean MS?

DIFFERENTIAL RADIOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF WHITE MATTER LESIONS. White matter T2 hyperintensities in the brain are not specific to MS and are seen in a number of other disorders. They can even be seen in otherwise normal individuals, particularly with increasing age.

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.

What do white matter lesions indicate?

White matter lesions (WMLs) or leukoaraiosis indicate small vessel vascular brain disease as well as degenerative or inflammatory processes. WMLs appear as hyperintense periventricular or subcortical patchy or confluent areas on T2 or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI sequence.

What are the components of normal white matter?

This review explores the clinicopathophysiology of white matter demyelinating disorders using radiologic-pathologic correlation. The central nervous system is composed of neurons and glial cells. Myelinated axons together with glial cells are the main components of the normal white matter.

How are white matter diseases and pathologic correlations related?

White Matter Diseases with Radio-logic-Pathologic Correlation1 White matter diseases include a wide spectrum of disorders that have in common impairment of normal myelination, either by secondary destruction of previously myelinated structures (demy-elinating processes) or by primary abnormalities of myelin forma-tion (dysmyelinating processes).

What are white matter lesions on magnetic resonance imaging?

White matter lesions, commonly seen on magnetic resonance images of elderly people, are related to various geriatric disorders including cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, dementia, and psychiatric disorders. Currently, white matter lesions are divided into periventricular white matter lesions and deep white matter lesions.

What is the meaning of cerebral white matter?

The cerebral white matter (WM) was considered in antiquity to be the seat of all sensations, movements, and intellect. It was relegated to relative obscurity as the cerebral cortex ascended to prominence, and cerebral cortical association areas, in particular, came to be regarded as the substrates for cognition.

What causes white matter lesions on MRI? What Are White Spots? Spots on a brain MRI are caused by changes in water content and fluid movement that occur in brain tissue when the brain cells are inflamed or damaged. These lesions are more easily seen on T2 weighted images, a term that describes the frequency…