What does it mean to have white matter lesions on the brain?
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.
What does lesions in the frontal lobe mean?
Commonly known to cause “frontal lobe personality”, lesions in the orbitofrontal areas classically cause dramatic changes in behavior leading to impulsivity and a lack of judgment.
What is white matter in frontal lobe?
White matter is a vast, intertwining system of neural connections that join all four lobes of the brain (frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital), and the brain’s emotion center in the limbic system, into the complex brain maps being worked out by neuroscientists.
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.
What diseases cause white matter lesions?
Some examples of conditions that affect white matter include:
- MS.
- Lyme disease.
- Balo concentric sclerosis.
- tumefactive demyelinating lesions.
- Marburg and Schilder variants.
- neuromyelitis optica, or Devic’s disease.
- acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.
- acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalopathy, or Hurst disease.
Can 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.
What are white matter lesions in the brain?
White matter lesions (WML) are commonly observed on MRI scans in older adults and are thought to occur in the context of cardiovascular disease (1). These age-associated WML have been affiliated with cognitive decline, including dementia, and, also, depression and impaired mobility (2–4).
Is frontal hypometabolism associated with frontal or posterior white matter lesions?
Frontal WMH were more strongly related to frontal hypometabolism than posterior white matter lesions, possibly because the proportion of axons connecting to the frontal cortex is highest in the frontal white matter. The high correlations between WMH in different regions indicate that cerebrovascular disease is generalized.
What is the pathophysiology of white matter lesions at the frontal horns?
White matter lesions at the frontal horns, so-called “capping,” are in close proximity to cholinergic axons that originate in the basal forebrain. Therefore, these lesions may result in more significant cortical deafferentation because of the more proximal axonal disruption.
Why do lesions on the frontal cortex only affect the frontal lobes?
The preferential effect on frontal cortex by WMH is unexplained, but could be related to substantial convergence of fiber pathways on the frontal lobes, so that lesions in any subcortical region might be expected to exert their effects on this large region of association cortex.