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    Lesions?

    Can anyone explain to me what exactly lesions are? are they holes in your brain or are they just discolored parts of the brain or something? It always has confused me. I have 2 lesions in my brain and 1 on my spine. How many do you have and where are they?

    Thanks!
    Xo, Lee
    DX:1/6/12 "Bad becomes better when worse happens."

    #2
    Originally posted by l0velee View Post
    Can anyone explain to me what exactly lesions are? are they holes in your brain or are they just discolored parts of the brain or something? It always has confused me. I have 2 lesions in my brain and 1 on my spine. How many do you have and where are they?
    An MS lesion is any place in your central nervous system where the myelin sheath that's supposed to cover the axons of your nerve cells is damaged/gone. The Wikipedia entry for "myelin" has a good diagram.

    I've got 2 in my brain and 1 in my cervical spine (neck).
    1st sx 11/26/09; Copaxone from 12/1/11 to 7/13/18
    NOT ALL SX ARE MS!

    Comment


      #3
      Multiple Sclerosis is named for the multiple scars or "lesions" it leaves on nerves. A lesion can be active or old scar tissue. Your body tries to heal the lesions and succeeds to some degree but the new myelin that is laid down is not as good as the original so it doesn't conduct nerve impulses as well and you get symptoms.
      I don't fall, the floor attacks me. The corner of the bed is in on it too.

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        #4
        an ms lesion is where the mri measures an increase in water--the mri is just an instrument and it has to measure something..and it measures water. the mylen around the nerves is hydrophobic. it repels water, like soap does, which is also hydrophobic.

        the body is 95% water, so when the mylin is missing, there is nothing to repel water and there will be water where there shouldn't be water. and that show as a lesion on the mri.

        there are other things besides ms that can cause an increase in water where water should not show, so the doc has to combine clinical observation with mri lesions to determine what is the most probable cause of the increase in water content(lesions) .

        i was given a count of 4 in my neck and a description of extensive damage from ms in my brain.

        prior worked in instrumentation.
        (so thats how i need to begin to understand MS.)
        #1 what is measured,
        #2 how its measured,
        #3 what the measurement means
        #4 can the measured value be manipulated
        #5 what is the benefit to manipulation the measured value.
        xxxxxxxxxxx

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          #5
          Lesions

          I have one on my spinal cord and confluent flair in my brain. confluent means many clustered together. I never got a count.

          By the way I am undx'd.
          limbo land for 1 year and 4 months DX February 2012 Copaxon February 2012 for 6 months. No DMD's since.

          Comment


            #6
            I have 5 lesions on the spine and about 70 in the brain,
            .
            I was DX RRms August 2009 and I am almost 65 year old. I am on Copaxone and in pretty good shape.

            Every one is so different!
            We have to take what come to us.

            Good luck.

            Comment


              #7
              Thank you all! I really have a better understanding now. I was scared when i heard the word LESION. It sounded like a gaping hole or something. I wish you all the best of luck and again, thank you so much!

              xoxo, lee
              DX:1/6/12 "Bad becomes better when worse happens."

              Comment


                #8
                Hi! Welcome, we are here to help eachother. You can ask ?'s, answer ?'s or just vent!!
                In answer to your ? lesions are what happens when the "nasty MonSter" strips the mylen from the nerves in your brain or spine. Mylen is the covering on the nerves kind of like the rubber coating in wires,when the rubber is stripped away the wires are exposed & you get a shock or worse.
                Has your Dr. put you on any Rx? There are several good MS websites that offer free booklets,as well as the drug co. sites.
                Keep us posted God Bless Nona Judy

                Comment


                  #9
                  Nona,

                  Thanks for the explanation I went to my neuro but she was not in so I had to see the covering Dr. she just baffled me!! she told me a list of medications and told me to go home and pick one and call her on monday (the monday that just passed). Basically I have not chosen a medication yet cause i have no clue which one! The pill & the monthly IV are out of the question though. I am waiting for my regular neuro to call me and talk with me, I really need her help.... Ugh what a process!

                  xo
                  Lee
                  DX:1/6/12 "Bad becomes better when worse happens."

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I have a question. I have a lesion in my spinal cord as well as some in my brain. Someone mentioned here & I've heard it mentioned before that the lesion can be active or not. Does anyone know what terminology in the MRI report indicates this? My Dr didn't mention if the lesions were active or new vs. older. I haven't been diagnosed & trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks!!
                    Diagnosed: May 2012
                    Medications: Avonex - stopped 12/14
                    Plegridy - starting 12/14

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Westgrl View Post
                      Does anyone know what terminology in the MRI report indicates this?
                      If the same area was scanned with and without "contrast" (gadolimium, injected at the start), the report will mention whether some areas are brighter on the contrast version. Those are the active areas.
                      1st sx 11/26/09; Copaxone from 12/1/11 to 7/13/18
                      NOT ALL SX ARE MS!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Wstgrl, I'm no expert on MRIs but I'm pretty sure that the report would talk about "enhancing lesions" if they're active.
                        MEMBER OF MS WORLD SINCE 4/03.

                        SPMS diagnosed 1980. Avonex 2002-2005. Copaxone 6/4/07-5/15/10.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Thank you Mark & agate. Mine just refers to it as a hyperintense focus with no significant abnormal enhancement with the contrast.
                          Diagnosed: May 2012
                          Medications: Avonex - stopped 12/14
                          Plegridy - starting 12/14

                          Comment


                            #14
                            The T1, T2 and FLAIR images are done first, and references to "hyperintensity" describe bright things seen on the T2 and FLAIR images. Then the gadolinium is injected and we do only T1 images after that injection. Bright areas on the post-injection T1 images are called "enhancing" lesions.

                            A "lesion" is anything abnormal; there are many types of brain and spinal cord lesions, and MS lesions, or "plaques" are simply one type of lesion. That's why appearance, location and contrast enhancement characteristics are important when trying to figure out what sort of lesion is present on any given scan.


                            rex

                            Comment


                              #15
                              "no significant enhancement" would imply not active to me. I can tell which ones are active and which ones aren't on my MRI's. I've been looking at them for a while now.

                              Last MRI in 2003 - over 30 lesions, all in brain. First MRI in 1988 - 3 lesions.

                              Tom
                              "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one."
                              - Voltaire

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