MRIs

[hallk33]

How often do you get MRIs? When you get them do you get spine and brain or just one?
I have lesions in my brain and spine. I have been on Gilenya for about three months so I am having an MRI done to see how I'm doing on it. I haven't had MRIs done in about six months. The thing is that I'm only having a brain MRI doe this time. I swore he doctor said we would do both but I had the scheduler double check and he only wants the brain done. Why won't we also check to see how the spine is doing? Is this normal?

[Omzone]

MRI's

Don't know about if they always do brain and spine.. I think it depends on your symptoms. I have to have one this morning of Brain and C-spine. Brain is because its been about a year, C-spine is because I had neck surgery (dec 1st) and having symptoms in the neck area. They will do the MRI with and w/o contrast.

Either way, I hope all goes well for you! Keeping what fingers and toes I can crossed... well crossed for good luck.

Omzone

[Redwings]

While there's redundancy in the brain that allows some lesions to be "silent," the spinal cord doesn't have much redundancy. For that reason, even small lesions tend to cause symptoms, even if they're mild. Because cord lesions "speak up" to signal that new ones have formed (or old ones reactivated), there's less need to use MRIs to know about them. My neuro declined to do cord MRIs on me for years, and only ordered them when my symptoms started acting up again. That took more than 5 years.

If your last MRIs were done only 6 months ago and you haven't had any new symptoms suggesting activity in your spinal cord, there isn't a pressing need right now to do spinal MRIs as a "progress check." Your spinal cord is already telling you how it's doing. Under the same circumstances, some doctors will choose to do spinal MRIs along with brain imaging, some won't, including those who try to ensure that expensive medical procedures are used wisely. Next time you see your neuro, ask him why he chose to order only the brain study. He may have had a different reason.

[0485c10]

Its as Redwing wrote above, but if your interested in reading an article on MRI use in MS diagnosis & treatment there is a really good article i recommend by the United Spinal Association, i just put a link to it on my home page under the date 1/26/2012

[Scooter24]

My neuro is only doing brain MRI now every 6 months and wouldn't bother with them if he wasn't watching for PML, as he said and I agree why waste the $ or tie up the machine, if there are more lesions what are you going to do, if sx don't get worse why bother?

[Alicious]

FWIW, I am in the midst of my first flare since diagnosis in October 2010. I'm having sensory issues like previous flares, and am having an MRI of both brain and c-spine tomorrow to see what has changed.

Since diagnosis, we've only done brain MRIs, but with new symptoms that suggest activity in my spinal cord again, we are checking my c-spine as well to see what is going on.

I agree that this is a question best suited for your neuro, but I can tell you that when I asked mine the same question, he told me that in the absence of flares, the brain is often the best place to look to see if new lesions are popping up if you want to get a feel for the efficacy of a medication. Perhaps that is how your doctor feels as well?