What comes first- lesions or symptoms?

[btrfly2541]

This may be a silly question, but I'm brand new to neuro symptoms. As I stated in earlier post, my MRI without contrast to rule out stroke was clear and I have just started on this "what could this be" journey. I have read in several others' posts that there is a particular type of MRI that may show MS. I think it was a FLAIR image (sorry if I'm off here).

Reading about various neuro problems has me now thinking- what comes first, the lesion or the symptoms? Does someone have symptoms because they have a lesion, or are lesions scar-type tissue that occur because of an attack that caused symptoms?

I see a neuro in a few weeks (thankfully didn't have to wait nearly as long as others have) and will hopefully get more information there about what could be causing my left arm weakness and paresthesias throughout my left side.

Thanks to anyone who replies!

[babyduckling]

Good question. I have no idea but good luck and heres to hoping you don't have the monster.

[22cyclist]

The FLAIR is just a cut of the MRI, and comes with most MRIs with and without contrast. Even if you go in for rule-out tumor or stroke.

Which comes first lesions or symptoms? It depends. Each person is different. Logically its the lesions because they make the symptoms. This is why when you have no lesions but you have symptoms, they look for other reasons besides MS.

Good luck!
Take care
Lisa

[gomer]

Another factor is tiny MS lesions may not be picked (too small) up on typical in use MRI machines. As more powerful MRI machines come into use, we can expect smaller lesions to be found/picked up by them.

What came first the Chicken or the egg? I say the egg, simply because any given chicken (that I know of) was an egg before it became a chicken.

Gomer