Hi,
Thank you for your query. I can understand your concerns.
Multiple sclerosis (MS)-
Visual blurring occurs from ON (
Optic neuritis). ON is common at the onset of disease but uncommon during the later course of the disease.Visual symptoms are generally monocular but may be bilateral.
Speech problem (slurred speech) & Ataxia (recurrent falls) may occur from cerebellar lesions.
Brain-stem involvement can cause vertigo,vertebro-basilar insufficiency again contributing to recurrent falls.
Brain-stem lesions can also cause paroxysmal symptoms like dysarthria (speech problem).
MRI brain in MS-characteristic abnormalities are found in >95% of patients although more than 90% of the lesions visualized by MRI are asymptomatic.
Lesions larger than 6 mm located in the
corpus callosum, periventricular
white matter, brainstem, cerebellum, or
spinal cord are particularly helpful diagnostically.
Evidence for dissemination in space in the brain (lesions slightly enlarging year after year ) based on T2+ lesions in the characteristic periventricular, juxtacortical, or infratentorial regions -suggest
insidious neurologic progression of MS [Primary progressive MS (PPMS)].
T2-images inflammation and
demyelination better. FLAIR( fluid attenuated inversion recovery) image-edema and gliosis appear hyper-intense.
Regards
Dr. T.K. Biswas M.D.
Mumbai