Thank you so much for your response! I am so confused about MS...I even though maybe some sort of vascular problem, sinse I do have Innapropriate Sinus Tachycardia & Cardiac entrapment, which, I was not born with the C.E. About 1 & 1/2 yrs ago, I had an awful head pain, felt like someone literally took an axe to my head & split it open, It was very painful, & lasted just a few minutes...a head pain like I have never had before. (I only had it that one time) I am not a headachey person, I do get pain behind my left eye a lot, but eye dr said not optic neuritis. Anyway, I wondered if the non-specific hyperintensities could be due to blood vessel disease ( I have been smoking 20 yrs & am a very tiny person) ...just a thought. Dr. Sharma, it is so hard to get to the bottom of this because I cannot afford insurance, and most drs in my area don't seem to want to help when you don't have insurance! Sooo frustrating! Again, thank you so much for your time!
Hi there. I read your history and would like you to be investigated for multiple sclerosis by your neurologist. These white matter signal changes on brain mri need to be correlated to the history, clinical examination and other ancillary investigations. Your doctor will need to investigate you for multiple sclerosis where the disease phase is characterized by active phase and remissions. It has multiple symptoms and signs and is a diagnosis of exclusion. The symptoms of multiple sclerosis are loss of balance, muscle spasms, numbness in any area, problems with walking and coordination, tremors in one or more arms and legs. Bowel and bladder symptoms include frequency of micturition, urine leakage, eye symptoms like double vision uncontrollable rapid eye movements, facial pain, painful muscle spasms, tingling, burning in arms or legs, depression, dizziness, hearing loss, fatigue etc. The treatment is essentially limited to symptomatic therapy so the course of action would not change much whether MS has been diagnosed or not. Apart from clinical neurological examination, MRI shows MS as paler areas of demyelination, two different episodes of demyelination separated by one month in at least two different brain locations. Spinal tap is done and CSF electrophoresis reveals oligoclonal bands suggestive of immune activity, which is suggestive but not diagnostic of MS. Demyelinating neurons, transmit nerve signals slower than non-demyelinated ones and can be detected with EP tests. These are visual evoked potentials, brain stem auditory evoked response, and somatosensory evoked potential. Slower nerve responses in any one of these is not confirmatory of MS but can be used to complement diagnosis along with a neurological examination, medical history and an MRI in addition, a spinal tap. Therefore, it would be prudent to consult your neurologist with these concerns. Hope this helps. Take care.