Should I be worried about white matter?

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.

Should I be concerned about white matter in the brain?

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.

Is white matter disease life threatening?

It is not possible to stop disease progression, and it is typically fatal within 6 months to 4 years of symptom onset. People with the juvenile form of metachromatic leukodystrophy, which develops between the age of 4 and adolescence, may live for many years after diagnosis.

What does white matter on a brain MRI mean?

White matter lesions (WMLs) are areas of abnormal myelination in the brain. These lesions are best visualized as hyperintensities on T2 weighted and FLAIR (Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery) sequences of magnetic resonance imaging. They are considered a marker of small vessel disease.

Can white matter disease go away?

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.

Severity of White Matter Hyperintensities

At what age does white matter disease start?

By age 60, this degeneration, termed white matter disease, is present in more than half of the population.

How long can someone live with white matter disease?

In general, the prognosis is grave, with the majority of patients dying after a few years. However, some die only after several months, and some manage to survive for several decades [6].

Can white matter lesions be nothing?

Studies have found that white matter lesions appear in some degree on brain scans of most older adults but less often in younger people. 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.

Can stress cause white matter lesions?

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

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.

What are the symptoms of white matter on the brain?

While white matter disease has been associated with strokes, cognitive loss, and dementia, it also has some physical and emotional symptoms such as balance problems, falls, depression, and difficulty multitasking (e.g., walking and talking.)

What 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.

How do you know if you have white matter disease?

Advances in medical imaging have made white matter disease easier to spot. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test, which takes pictures of the inside of your brain, can show any damage. Changes to white matter will show up super-bright white (your doctor may call this "hyperintense") on an MRI scan.

Does everyone have white matter in their brain?

See other articles in PMC that cite the published article. “Gray matter” is only one of two types of brain tissue; the other “white matter” is rarely mentioned. Yet white matter makes up half the human brain and has not been thought to be important in cognition or learning outside the context of pathology.

Can brain lesions be harmless?

That's because there are many types of brain lesions. They can range from small to large, from few to many, from relatively harmless to life threatening.

What increases white matter in the brain?

White matter, on the other hand, responds mainly to a steady diet of healthy fats, because brain matter is made up of fats. If you are out for dinner, dump dark green olive oil all over your meal. Or go for other sources of wonderful fats: cold water fish, organic nut butters, coconut and avocados.

Can anxiety cause brain lesions?

Abstract. Sometimes patients with organic brain lesions in neurologically silent brain areas might present only with psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, or cognitive dysfunction.

How common are white matter lesions?

White-matter lesions

They are highly frequent in the elderly population. In people aged 60–70 years the prevalence is about 87%, whereas the prevalence at the age of 80–90 years even approaches 100% (de Leeuw et al., 2001; Launer, 2004).

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.)

Is white matter disease rare?

Although it is a rare disorder, it is believed to be one of the most common inherited diseases that affect the white matter.

Is white matter normal with aging?

Overall, results from studies of FA suggest that microstructural white matter integrity differentiates normal from pathological aging because normal aging is associated with microstructural deterioration that generally occurs in an anterior to posterior gradient whereas dementia is associated with deterioration of more ...

Do you lose white matter as you age?

Many studies have shown that with increasing age, white matter FA decreases, including such white matter areas as the corpus callosum, deep frontal, inferior frontal, medial orbital, fornix, anterior limb of internal capsule, external capsule, anterior cingulum, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and cerebellar tracts ( ...

Is white matter common age 50?

White matter hyperintensities are common in midlife and already associated with cognitive decline.

Can 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.

Can white matter cause dizziness?

We postulate that white matter lesions may induce dizziness either because patients perceive a degree of objective unsteadiness or by a cortical–subcortical disconnection syndrome, secondary to disruption of white matter tracts involved in gait and balance control [16], [17].