do brain lesions cause lateral numbness?

[0485c10]

Can that happen? i think i have read posts in the past where people have had numbness on one side of the body without spine lesions. i just don't remember if they said where their brain lesions were?... if that can happen can anyone tell me were a lesion in the brain would have to be to cause that symptom?

i thought numbness in the body was normally caused by a spine lesion and the numbness started below the level of the lesion. facial sensation(numbness) by brain stem lesions.

curious as i am listening to someone's experience going for a 2nd opinion after being diagnosed with ms from an episode of one sided body numbness and parietal lobe lesions found on the mri. with no spine lesions found on a spine mri..

at the first appointment, the 2nd opinion doc said the lesions are not consistent with the symptoms of her episode so she will investigate other causes for the episode and get another mri. lots of blood tests being done now.

the doc said that body numbness is normally caused by lesions in the back part of the brain, not where her lesions are.. i know her episode included facial numbness and if that is caused by ms, it would be from a lesion on the brain stem. i think her 2nd opinion doc is looking at her mri's when she gets them to see if a brain stem lesion was missed. that would be in the back part of the brain.

i don't know where a brain lesion would be located to cause the rest of her numbness. Any ideas? lateral numbness is a very common ms onset symptom.

it still could be ms after all the tests are done. she is glad right now she went to a ms-specialist to be more certain, to rule out what else it could be.

[SNOOPY]

Hello 0485c10,

Just wanted to bump this up for you...I don't have the answer you are seeking

I had bi-lateral numbness (numb from the waist down) at the time of diagnosis (without lesions). My neuro told me due to my symptoms this disease was affecting the spinal cord. I have had bi-lateral numbness a few other times and the opinion of my neuro is still c-spine lesions.

[0485c10]

Thanks snoopy. thats what i thought about spine lesion & numbness. i've been thinking more about this. i certainly am not tryng to play doc--its just curious--the word "numbness" can be used to describe so many variation, of a lack of sensation. the doc would be able to determine what kind of lateral numbness she was describing. maybe a person really cant speculate by just the description of lateral numbness & brain lesions.. it might not be do-able.

[photomama]

hmmm... well, I am no help. I have lateral numbness on my entire left side of my body, but I don't show any lesions (my neuro believes I'm in the 5% of people with MS who don't show lesions- lucky me).

I got to researching lateral numbness after reading your question (since I kind of take my numbness for granted since I've had it for so long) and came across an article specifically on numbness. From what I read, lateral numbess *has* to come from a disease of the central nervous system (like MS). It did not state where the damage/lesions were placed, unfortunately.

My numbness is not a complete numbness, but a decrease in sensitivity (no tingling), like wearing gloves. When I get hot or fatigued I go completely numb on my left side.

To further complicate things, I also go completely numb from the waist down when I'm hot or fatigued which is a new symptom. I'm just a bundle of numbness. LOL

[piper]

I have lateral numbness (usually my left side - all the way to my foot) and all my lesions are on my brain and cervical cord. The Thoracic and Lumbar MRI did not show any lesions. Numerous lesions on my brain and cervical spine.

I joke that it's all in my head!

[0485c10]

thanks photomama,piper & snoopy for letting my bounce idea off you & with you. i have read so many post of people being told their lesions were not in the right place for MS--she has lesions in the corpus colleseum, which is right for MS just not right for her cis.

i never expected her 2nd opinion doc to say something like that, it totally surprised me when she told me the doc had said it...but her doc had a variation on the theme not that her lesions were in the wrong place for MS but that they were in the wrong place for her CIS.

i've read all i could about the lateral numbness from MS and i think it only can occur from a cervical spine lesion.

which her doc will review the mri's and see one has been missed, or like you photomama she will be someone who doesn't show the lesions. i don't think it can be from brain lesions alone.

its interesting she will get the 'answer key' when she see's the doc in a month. i kind of hope the doc finds lesions that were missed--it makes it easier.

[DianeD]

To think about..

I'm going to write down some questions to ask my neuro based on your post.

None of my neuros (4) have ever related lesions to specific areas of my body.

I have a numb left hand and that began 16 yrs. ago as a bit of numbness in my left thumb; now it is the entire left hand, which makes my typing an ordeal :-/

I have intense itching on two spots on my right side, below my waist. It is nocturnal for the most part.

My initial symptom was double vision, which went away and did not return.

I have looked at the CD my tech gave me of my MRI. I just can't tell what is what by looking at it.

I wonder if a person can find a specialist who will look at the MRI with you and point out the important stuff?

Diane

[SNOOPY]

I have looked at the CD my tech gave me of my MRI. I just can't tell what is what by looking at it.

I wonder if a person can find a specialist who will look at the MRI with you and point out the important stuff?

Diane

I have never been able to understand the films/CD of a MRI. I can somewhat understand written the report.

My neuro has always gone over both the report and films with MS.

[0485c10]

I have spent the morning, research. I printed nearly a ream of paper of the articles, because i want to look at them to remember were to go next...

it occured to me i was being stupid in thinking that numbness can only be caused by spine lesions.

one sided numbness can be a symptom of stroke & strokes are damage in the brain, not spine. so of course i found that it can be caused by stroke, but where is the damage is done when it is caused by stroke UGHH...I'm leaning more to brainstem because that is where the spinal nerves connect in the brain? bring sensation to be interpreted into the brain. but brain stem strokes sound very life threatening & many people survive strokes with numbness.

honestly i printed out about a ream of paper on this
i don't think i am any closer to knowing what the answer is.

[aitch10]

The flare that led to my DX caused my left leg to go numb and the right side of my head - including my tongue - to go numb.

[Carol]

I went numb from the top of my ear down to my foot on my right side. My face was not affected. My brain MRI came back with this:

"an ovoid approx 1 cm in the left posterolateral aspect of the pons just above the level of the left cerebellar peduncle".

That was my CIS. Six years later I went numb from my belly-button down on both sides and the MRI showed a lesion between T8 and T10. Diagnosed with MS.

I hope this adds a piece to your puzzle!