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Have Bipolar Disorder. MRI Showed Mild Cerebral Volume And Parenchymal Volume Loss. What Does This Mean?

Posted on Sat, 28 Jul 2012

Question: I am a 49 year old male. I recently had an MRI showing mild cerebral volume and parenchymal volume loss what does this mean? I also have Bipolar Disorder 1, it is thought that BP1 patients brains never fully develop is this what the MRI is reflecting due to the Relin Gene?

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (1 hour later)

Hello,

Thanks for the question.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) details suggest that your brain has reduced in size, i.e. it has undergone atrophy rather than being underdeveloped since birth.

There are multiple clues which can help doctor to know on MRI, whether or not the brain has undergone atrophy or it was underdeveloped since birth. "In your case it is brain atrophy".

It’s common to have brain atrophy with advancing age. But in some cases it can be due to neurodegenerative disorders, alcohol consumption, HIV or medication related, etc. There is relation between bipolar disorder / Relin gene with brain atrophy.

No treatment is indicated in such case. Nor any treatment can reverse these changes.

Hope this answers your question. Please get back if you have any other doubts.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir (12 hours later)

Will this loss effect my IQ?

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (25 hours later)

Hi and thanks again,

Memory impairment is reported in a case of progressive brain atropy.
However it is not a very common occurrence.

I do not expect you to have memory loss / IQ loss in this case. Discuss with your physician / neurologist.

Hope this answers your query. Let me know if you need any more information.

Regards

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar