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.

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.

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.

Can white matter in the brain 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.

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- ...

Severity of White Matter Hyperintensities

What diseases cause white matter on the brain?

White matter disease may develop with conditions associated with aging, such as stroke, but it can also affect young people due to conditions such as cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy and multiple sclerosis (MS). Read on to learn more about white matter disease and its symptoms, causes, and prognosis.

Is white matter disease dementia?

White matter has a legitimate position in the study of dementia. The neuropathology of white matter disorders is typically diffuse or widespread, thus disrupting many networks simultaneously and producing a multi-domain syndrome that merits the term dementia.

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.

Is white matter a disease?

White matter disease is the wearing away of tissue in the largest and deepest part of your brain that has a number of causes, including aging. This tissue contains millions of nerve fibers, or axons, that connect other parts of the brain and spinal cord and signal your nerves to talk to one another.

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.

Is there a cure for white matter disease?

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.

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).

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 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).

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].

Do white spots on the brain mean dementia?

Conclusion White matter lesions, especially in the periventricular region, increase the risk of dementia in elderly people. Cerebral white matter lesions (WML) in elderly people are thought to result from small-vessel disease and are considered to be a risk factor for dementia.

What doctor do you see for 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 common is white matter disease?

By age 60, this degeneration, termed white matter disease, is present in more than half of the population. Originally, white matter disease was considered a normal, age-related change.

Is white matter disease painful?

In addition, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), for example in the spinothalamic tract, also referred to as the anterolateral pathway, may lead to an increase in pain experience; this type of pain is paraphrased as deafferentiation pain.

How long is life expectancy 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].

Does high blood pressure cause white matter disease?

People with poorly controlled hypertension had a higher risk of severe white matter lesions than those without hypertension, or those with controlled or untreated hypertension. Higher blood pressure was associated with an increased risk of severe white matter lesions.

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 genetic?

Similar to other brain-related traits, white matter has a complex and extremely polygenic genetic architecture (19).

Can high cholesterol cause brain lesions?

Background: Patients with hypercholesterolemia of 60 years and older have an increased risk for white matter brain lesions and dementia.

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.