Is white matter disease considered a disability?

Yes - it is considered a disability by the Social Security Administration. This is because it is an extremely serious brain disorder that can cause permanent tissue damage including scarring of the brain and loss of tissue.

How serious is white matter brain disease?

White matter disease is strongly linked to cardiovascular disease risk factors, and researchers believe that white matter disease is a biomarker (medical sign) of the lifelong risk of stroke, dementia and disability.

Does white matter disease shorten your life?

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 qualifies as a neurological disability?

Neurological disabilities include a wide range of disorders, such as epilepsy, learning disabilities, neuromuscular disorders, autism, ADD, brain tumors, and cerebral palsy, just to name a few. Some neurological conditions are congenital, emerging before birth.

Is white matter disease a neurological disorder?

White matter disease is a progressive disorder caused by age-related decline in the part of the nerves (the white matter) that connect different areas of brain to each other and to the spinal cord.

Severity of White Matter Hyperintensities

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].

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.)

What are the top 5 neurological disorders?

What are the top 10 neurological diseases?

Can you work with a neurological disorder?

It's very common for someone to have a neurological disorder that makes it impossible for them to work but doesn't meet the requirements in the Blue Book. In that case you can apply for a Medical Vocational Allowance.

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.

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.

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 is severe white matter disease?

White matter disease is a disease that affects the nerves that link various parts of the brain to each other and to the spinal cord. These nerves are also called white matter. White matter disease causes these areas to decline in their functionality. This disease is also referred to as leukoaraiosis.

Is white matter disease the same as vascular dementia?

White matter disease (WMD), also called multiple cerebral infarction, is regarded as the common cause of “mild” dementia in the elderly, and if dementia is the main problem, it is called a vascular dementia (Roman et al., 1993).

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. Currently, there are no established treatments or strategies for managing white matter hyperintensities.

What is the number 1 neurological disorder?

1. Headaches. Headaches are one of the most common neurological disorders and can affect anyone at any age. While many times a headache shouldn't be anything too serious to worry about, if your headache comes on suddenly and repeatedly, you should see a doctor, as these could be symptoms of an underlying condition.

What is the most common degenerative brain disorder?

Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease are the most common neurodegenerative diseases. In the United States, as many as 6.2 million people may have Alzheimer's disease, according to a report from the Alzheimer's Disease Association in 2022.

What is the most common neurological disorder in the world?

Among the neurological disorders, the 5 most prevalent were TTH (121.6 [95% UI, 110-133] million people), migraine (68.5 [95% UI, 64-73] million people), stroke (7.8 [95% UI, 7.4-8.2] million people), AD and other dementias (2.9 [95% UI, 2.6-3.2] million people), and SCI (2.2 [95% UI, 2.0-2.3] million people) (Table 1) ...

What is the rarest neurological disorder?

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, fatal brain disorder. It affects about one person in every one million per year worldwide; in the United States there are about 350 cases per year.

Which neurological disorder is the highest ranking cause of death?

Stroke and dementia combined contributed to 87.2% (8.2 million) of neurological deaths and 61.7% (168.5 million) of neurological DALYs in 2019.

Why would a neurologist order an MRI of the brain?

MRI is used to diagnose stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain and spinal cord tumors, inflammation, infection, vascular irregularities, brain damage associated with epilepsy, abnormally developed brain regions, and some neurodegenerative disorders.

Is white matter disease progressive?

Age-related white matter disease is progressive, meaning it can get worse.

Can white matter disease be misdiagnosed?

We have seen several patients in whom we believe MS was misdiagnosed, based on observation of white matter lesions. As MS is rare, and migraine extremely common (roughly 14% of population), there is a substantial chance of a false positive diagnostic error.

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.