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I Have been having severe Cognitive and Memory troubles. Doctor reluctantly ordered an MRI of my Brain with and without contrast. Here are the results not sure what maybe going on can someone please help?

MRI W/O contrast:
There are multiple areas of abnormal increased T2 deep white matter signal with the largest seen in the right centrum semiovale measuring 0.9 x 0.9 cm. Differential diagnosis is broad, but includes demyelinating disease. The overall arrangement is somewhat reminiscent of Dawson fingers. Suggest postcontrast imaging.

MRI W/Contrast:
Axial T1, T2, FLAIR, diffusion, sagittal T1, and coronal T1 weighted images obtained prior to the administration intravenous gadolinium. Following the administration of intravenous gadolinium, sagittal, axial and coronal T1-weighted images were obtained.
There is no acute infarct. There is no intracranial hemorrhage. There are no subdural or epidural collections. There are no masses. There are no abnormal enhancing lesions. Again seen are multiple scattered areas of nonspecific increased T2 deep white matter signal, which are nonenhancing. The ventricles appear midline. Normal vascular flow voids are present. The visualized posterior fossa is unremarkable. The paranasal sinuses are clear.
Does this mean MS?
Don't have an appointment with Neurologist till 12/8

Hi and welcome to TIMS.

IMHO MRIs should be read only by people who are trained to do so.

In any case, my suggestions for now,

Totally give up gluten and sugar, get some general blood work done and also get your vitamin D and B levels checked (after you do, my suggestion would be to start taking a good quality multi and also add additional Vitamin D and B).

Hope you feel better soon.

Thank you

BrianSetzer wrote:I Have been having severe Cognitive and Memory troubles. Doctor reluctantly ordered an MRI of my Brain with and without contrast. Here are the results not sure what maybe going on can someone please help?
...
Don't have an appointment with Neurologist till 12/8

Welcome to ThisIsMS, BrianSetzer.

People low or deficient in vitamin D may have symptoms of cognitive difficulties or impairment or poorer mental function.

If you have had the vitamin D blood test called "25-Hydroxy D," please share the actual test result numbers with us. GrassrootsHealth (http://www.grassrootshealth.net) recommends the serum vitamin D level be at least 40-60 ng/mL; vitamin D experts and some neurologists recommend a level between 80-100 ng/mL for patients with neurological symptoms.

If you have not had the test, consider asking the neurologist you see next week to order one for you. (Or call your GP and request one) Ask for your own copy of any test results.

BrianSetzer wrote:Does this mean MS?

Your neurologist will have to evaluate your MRI results in combination with your symptoms. However, it's important to consider that MS is a diagnosis of exclusion. In effect, other conditions which can produce similar symptoms will need to be evaluated first. One of these is a vitamin B12 deficiency which can produce a variety of neurological symptoms and also lesions seen on MRI. Checking for B12 deficiency is a standard part of the differential for MS. For someone experiencing neurological symptoms, you'll want your B12 to be 600-1000 pg/mL even though many standard laboratory ranges define "normal" around 200-800 pg/mL.

You may wish to read the following topic for more information.
http://www.thisisms.com/forum/natural-a ... 24857.html

brian welcome to the forum.

while not being an mri tech i have read their reports a couple of times. and i mean a couple i've had two done ever (then spent a ton of time looking up every phrase :S lol) was a long time ago, i'm over it now but do remember those early days of freaking out.

i looked over the text of your mri tech's report looking for phrases that could flag ms.

"Differential diagnosis is broad, but includes demyelinating disease."
that means ms is one of many possibilities

"The overall arrangement is somewhat reminiscent of Dawson fingers."
i have those. it's been a while since i looked it up but i do remember at one time looking really hard for non ms instances of dawson's fingers and did not find. it has been some time however so may be worth another look. also of note: 'somewhat reminiscent' aka not 'this is textbook dawson's fingers' - so another maybe

"There are no abnormal enhancing lesions."
i believe that means there are not active lesions, which you sometimes see with contrast in ms mris. non enhancing lesions are generally older. if they could see enhancing and non enhancing together that would give them 'dissemination in time' which is one thing on the list of diagnostic 'inclusion criteria'

so i think you have a resounding maybe. i am a huge fan of preventative health and have had serious cognitive issues in the past. they did actually turn out to be related to nutrient deficit. in my case the culprit where cognitive function was concerned turned out to be zinc. but the other nutrients mentioned here are pretty much the most top of mind, with b12 having been the main differential dx for ms for decades and d3 having achieved a solid second place for assessment in ms patients over the last 10 yrs or so. gluten and sugar issues are linked to low zinc. low zinc can impair b12 absorption. there are so many interconnects, basically all these things that are low in ms all seem to hang together in ways that we are only just starting to learn about. all fascinating.

i get that it feels like a long time until the 8th but you will get through this ok. just take good care of yourself

another snippet re dissemination
http://www.radiologyassistant.nl/data/b ... e-time.png

My lesions and shrunk over time, so I am not quite sure what it all means. I have heard that lesions in certain places cause certain symptoms but I don't know for certain.

When I was first diagnosed my symptoms were far worse then they are now. I really focused on being healthy rather than sick and did what I could to keep me healthy.

I am of the belief that you can, to an extend, heal yourself. I hope you are able to do so