Please tell me what these results mean.

[JeffreyM]

   During December 2008 I was hospitized for a week because I had weekness in my right leg. I am a 32 yr old male.I was released with a tentitive diagnoses of M.S. MRI's of the brain and C-spine show what appears to be demyelination on both. On the brain there were 2 small foci of increased signal. The C-spine showed abnormal signal in the cervical cord and increased signal at the posteriorlateral C4 level. CT scans were normal.
   Now I have spasticity problem in my right arm and leg. My leg locks straight and my right arm locks up bent with my fingers locked bent. My leg,arm and chest muscles also shake ripidly depending on position. I have been having the same thing happen on my left side.Lunbar puncture, EEG, and VEP are normal.
   I am going to give the results of my last MRIs. (brain):  A 7mm nodule in the quadrigeminal cistern. Nonspecific focal FLAIR hyperintensities scattered throughout the brain. Small nodular lesion in the quadrigeminal cistern which is benign.  A small amount of fluid in the bilateral maxillary sinuses.  (cervical spine): There is a mild straightening of the cervical spine. Several areas of increased THERE signal intensity seen including at the cervicomedullary junction with a large plaque extending from C1 to C5 as well as increased STIR signal in C6 in the cord. There may also be increased STIR signal seen at T3 within the cord.
    Can anyone tell me anything about my results?

[sllowe]

Hi there,

You sure do have a lot going on.  I am going to break your recent history down into small chunks to make it easier to interp.....

During December 2008 you were hospitized for a week because of weakness in right leg. 32 yr old male and released with a tentitive diagnoses of M.S. MRI's at the time of the brain and C-spine show what appears to be demyelination. On the brain there were 2 small foci of increased signal.

C-spine C4 level abnormal signal
     symptoms: spasticity right arm and leg.
                       leg locks straight and right arm locks up bent and fingers locked bent
                       leg,arm and chest muscles shake depending on position

Lumbar puncture, EEG, and VEP: normal
MRIs. (brain):  7mm nodule in the quadrigeminal cistern
Nonspecific focal FLAIR hyperintensities scattered throughout brain
Small nodular lesion in the quadrigeminal cistern which is benign
A small amount of fluid in the bilateral maxillary sinuses

C-spine: mild straightening of the cervical spine.
    Several areas of increased  Flair signal intensity seen including at the    
    cervicomedullary junction with a large plaque extending from C1 to C5 as well as  
    increased STIR signal in C6 in the cord
  
   There may also be increased STIR signal seen at T3 within the cord

***************
Jeff,
Jeff, the ER did a good job running tests/imaging.  What brought you there that day/night?  It's my personal opinion that when they see something big, for example, the plaque they mention from C1 through C5 that it always get re-checked with additional sequences from the same MRI facility or hospital.  

It's looks like they ran the STIR and FLAIR but they could run more on Drs orders, like proton density and 3-D to get a better picture of your spine.

Many of the problems you are experiencing sound to me that they are coming from your c-spine.  What are your next steps in terms of a neuro? I'd put them on the spot and say you want clarity where the reports are concerned. Words like "may be increased..." are not specific enough.

Thank you very much for joining us.  Hope you are able to get back to us and that we are able to help you.

-Shell

[slightlybroken]

Hi and Welcome to the Forum!

I can't be much help on this one, so I'll bump your question since it went to the second page so others can have a go at it. I can make out some things..I just don't like to decipher MRI reports..just in case I'm wrong.

There does seem like a lot of things going on in your spinal area, which is probably why you are experiencing spasticity in your arm, chest, and leg. Hopefully your doctors have prescribed you a good muscle relaxer (like Baclofen or Zanaflex) to try. I know what it's like to have spasticity.


Take Care