How do you treat white matter in the brain?

White matter disease doesn't have a cure, but there are treatments that can help manage your symptoms. The primary treatment is physical therapy. Physical therapy can help with any balance and walking difficulties you may develop.

Is white matter on brain serious?

Some white matter lesions may not cause noticeable symptoms and can be considered almost “normal” with aging. However, some of these lesions can damage important pathways (highways) within your brain and can cause problems with memory, balance and walking.

Can white matter in the brain be repaired?

White matter injuries are very serious, but, depending on the type and extent of the injury, extensive recovery may occur. As long as the neuron cell bodies remain healthy, axons can regrow and slowly repair themselves.

How long can you live with moderate white matter disease?

Within 2 years, children can develop gait and posture problems, as well as blindness and paralysis. It is not possible to stop disease progression, and it is typically fatal within 6 months to 4 years of symptom onset.

What does it mean when white matter is found in the brain?

White matter is found in the deeper tissues of the brain (subcortical). It contains nerve fibers (axons), which are extensions of nerve cells (neurons). Many of these nerve fibers are surrounded by a type of sheath or covering called myelin. Myelin gives the white matter its color.

White Matter Affects Alzheimer's Treatment

Is white matter disease treatable?

Treatments: While there is no known cure for white matter disease, treatments can help to manage the symptoms. Controlling the risk factors associated with heart disease can help decrease the progression of the disease.

What kind of doctor treats white matter disease?

A radiologist, particularly a neuroradiologist, has expertise in what the brain should look like on an MRI. When evaluating for white matter disease, the radiologist will be looking for abnormal signal in the brain tissue.

What does white matter on brain MRI mean?

White matter disease is commonly detected on brain MRI of aging individuals as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), or 'leukoaraiosis.” Over the years it has become increasingly clear that the presence and extent of WMH is a radiographic marker of small cerebral vessel disease and an important predictor of the life- ...

Does white matter disease lead to dementia?

Brain scientists have found that white matter disease chips away at memory by shrinking the brain, and contributing to dementia more than initially thought. “These findings highlight that the role of white matter disease in dementia has been under-appreciated,” says Dr.

How do you slow down white matter?

Keep your blood pressure and blood sugar in check. That can lead to white matter changes. To keep your heart healthy, follow a low-fat, low-salt diet, and get about 2 and a half hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week. Manage diabetes if you have it and keep your cholesterol in check.

Is white matter disease the same as MS?

White Matter Consists Mainly of Nerve Fibers

In MS, the immune system attacks the myelin in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. The attack causes inflammation that eventually leads to sclerosis, which is the medical term for scarring. (That's how MS got its name.)

Does white matter disease cause headaches?

Patients with extensive white matter hyperintensities are likely to have tension-type headaches or to have headaches develop during middle age, according to results published in Cephalagia.

Does white matter increase with age?

Age-correlated studies reveal that the changes in white matter may be much higher than those of gray matter (Miller et al., 1980). Upto 40 years of age, the white matter volume increases and is closely related to the formation of the myelin sheath (Courchesne et al., 2000; Bartzokis, 2004).

Do white matter lesions go away?

Sometimes a white spot can go away if treated—for example, if it is an infection or brain tumor. They may also temporarily get smaller and possibly worsen again later. This is often the case with inflammatory conditions such as lupus or MS that flare up and then improve.

Are white matter changes serious?

Originally, white matter disease was considered a normal, age-related change. But over the last decade, medical experts have come to understand that the presence of large areas of disease in the white matter of the brain are associated with cognitive decline and dementia in patients.

Can white spots on brain be harmless?

White matter lesions are among the most common incidental findings—which means the lesions have no clinical significance—on brain scans of people of any age. They may also reflect a mixture of inflammation, swelling, and damage to the myelin.

Can white matter disease cause personality changes?

The range of clinical features heralding the onset of white matter involvement is impressively broad and may include inattention, executive dysfunction, confusion, memory loss, personality change, depression, somnolence, lassitude, or fatigue.

Is white matter disease the same as Alzheimer's?

Unlike Alzheimer's disease which shrinks the hippocampus causing progressive memory loss, white matter disease is a more diffuse mind-robbing condition that targets small blood vessels deep within the brain's white matter.

Can stress cause white matter lesions?

Increased exposures to stressful events are associated with a corresponding increase in the progression of white matter hyperintensities.

Does dementia always show up on a brain scan?

Dementia brain scans

Not everyone will need a brain scan, particularly if the tests and assessments show that dementia is a likely diagnosis. These scans may also be used to check for evidence of other possible problems that could explain a person's symptoms, such as a stroke or a brain tumour.

Can lesions on the brain heal?

Treatment. Brain lesion treatment depends on the cause. Some lesions, such as infections and cancer, can be treated with medication with the goal of a complete cure. Vascular malformations may need to be surgically treated to prevent a rupture.

Does high blood pressure cause white matter disease?

Several studies have suggested that people with high blood pressure have a greater chance of accumulating white matter lesions and experiencing later-in-life cognitive impairment and dementia.

Are you born with white matter disease?

While childhood onset is the most common form of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, some severe forms are apparent at birth.

Does white matter disease cause fatigue?

Brain white matter (WM), and more specifically neuronal connectivity, is thought to perform a crucial role in the central processing of fatigue [1]. In diseases of the WM, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), persisting fatigue is a common disabling complication [2].

How common is white matter disease in the elderly?

White matter lesions are often found on MR scans of elderly people, they are attributed to degenerative changes of long penetrating arteries. 1-6 Reported prevalence ranges from 5% to 90%, depending on study design, study population, and rating scales.