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Dr. Andrew Rynne
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Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Advise On The MRI With "scattered Punctate White Matter"

I recently had an MRI following what appears to be a TIA. The results indicate "scattered punctate white matter ... mild to moderate" and "no basal ganglia or brain stem signal"

I am seeing a neurologist and she will be receiving the MRI pictures later this week.

Can you tell me what "scattered punctate white matter ... mild to moderate" and "no basal ganglia or brain stem signal" means in plan language?

Thanks!

Michael
Mon, 21 Apr 2014
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Radiologist,  's  Response
Hello
Thanks for writing to HCM

Scattered punctate white matter(mild to moderate)changes in brain may be due to many reasons.Basal ganglia and brain stem appears normal.
It may be due to ischemic changes,demyelination etc.
White matter ischemic changes(decreased blood supply)typically involves small blood vessels.However demyelination,lyme disease,post traumatic changes should also be ruled out with follow up scan.
You need monitoring of conditions that leads to ischemic changes like hypertension,altered lipid profile,diabetes mellitus.
You need investigations like routine hemogram,RBS,LFT,RFT,Lipid profile,ultrasound of abdomen.
If there is any more physical problems then it should be treated.

Get well soon.
Hope i have answered your query.

Take Care
Dr.Indu Bhushan
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Advise On The MRI With "scattered Punctate White Matter"

Hello Thanks for writing to HCM Scattered punctate white matter(mild to moderate)changes in brain may be due to many reasons.Basal ganglia and brain stem appears normal. It may be due to ischemic changes,demyelination etc. White matter ischemic changes(decreased blood supply)typically involves small blood vessels.However demyelination,lyme disease,post traumatic changes should also be ruled out with follow up scan. You need monitoring of conditions that leads to ischemic changes like hypertension,altered lipid profile,diabetes mellitus. You need investigations like routine hemogram,RBS,LFT,RFT,Lipid profile,ultrasound of abdomen. If there is any more physical problems then it should be treated. Get well soon. Hope i have answered your query. Take Care Dr.Indu Bhushan