Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
What Does This MRI Report Indicate?
Question: Hello Doctors,
My mom has been with diagnosed TB of the lymph nodes and after 1 month we found out that she also has brain TB. She has been on TB treatment for the past 2 years. I had a few questions regarding the brain TB. I attached this week's MRI report, page 1 and page 2. I have a couple of questions regarding this
(1) In the report it does not say TB Meningitis which is the general name for brain TB, instead it says "Leptomeningitis". Is leptomeningitis same as TB meningitis?
(2) Is it a common practice to mention brain TB as leptomeningitis in the MRI report as it doesnt say meningitis anywhere in the report
(3) Or is Leptomeningitis a different form of brain TB?
I was a little confused when I was trying to research the terms in the report.
Please advise and let me know if you need any other information. Thank You so much.
My mom has been with diagnosed TB of the lymph nodes and after 1 month we found out that she also has brain TB. She has been on TB treatment for the past 2 years. I had a few questions regarding the brain TB. I attached this week's MRI report, page 1 and page 2. I have a couple of questions regarding this
(1) In the report it does not say TB Meningitis which is the general name for brain TB, instead it says "Leptomeningitis". Is leptomeningitis same as TB meningitis?
(2) Is it a common practice to mention brain TB as leptomeningitis in the MRI report as it doesnt say meningitis anywhere in the report
(3) Or is Leptomeningitis a different form of brain TB?
I was a little confused when I was trying to research the terms in the report.
Please advise and let me know if you need any other information. Thank You so much.
Brief Answer:
Leptomeningitis is the same as meningitis.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The leptomeninges are the innermost layers of the brain the pia and arachnoidea. The term leptomeningitis means inflammation of these layers. Leptomeningitis is the same as meningitis. As for whether this meningitis is due to the TB, that is not something which the MRI only can say (it is the lab tests which determine the infective agent), it is a conclusion which is made based on the known history of tuberculosis. In this case it is a given that meningitis (or leptomeningitis) is due to TB with the known prior history.
It is a common practice to use the terms leptomeningitis and meningitis referring to the same thing.
So it is not a different form of TB. Leptomeningitis is simply what you know as meningitis. The report hasn't specified whether it is due to TB, but in the setting of a known infection one can safely assume it is TB meningitis.
I hope to have cleared things up for you.
Leptomeningitis is the same as meningitis.
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I understand your concern.
The leptomeninges are the innermost layers of the brain the pia and arachnoidea. The term leptomeningitis means inflammation of these layers. Leptomeningitis is the same as meningitis. As for whether this meningitis is due to the TB, that is not something which the MRI only can say (it is the lab tests which determine the infective agent), it is a conclusion which is made based on the known history of tuberculosis. In this case it is a given that meningitis (or leptomeningitis) is due to TB with the known prior history.
It is a common practice to use the terms leptomeningitis and meningitis referring to the same thing.
So it is not a different form of TB. Leptomeningitis is simply what you know as meningitis. The report hasn't specified whether it is due to TB, but in the setting of a known infection one can safely assume it is TB meningitis.
I hope to have cleared things up for you.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
