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What Does The Brain MRI Report Indicate?

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Posted on Mon, 15 Dec 2014
Question: I had a brain MRI recently and it came back normal except for a finding of a "tiny nonspecific focus of T2/FLAIR hyper intensity in the subcortical right frontal region." Is this anything I should look into further? Is it a common finding?
Thanks.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Not significant.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Hyperintense lesions in the frontal cortex in the white matter is a normal and common finding. They represent ischemia (lack of blood flow) in the small blood vessels of the brain. Hence they are also at times referred to as ischemic small vessel disease. Hence these lesions are more commonly seen in the MRI of patients who have cerebrovascular risk factors like hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol as well those that smoke. Their incidence increases with age.

These lesions are responsible for memory impairment (vascular dementia) in some individuals. A neurological examination to look for cognitive impairment is needed in case the lesions are progressively increasing in subsequent MRI scans.
A single small lesion is usually not worrisome and is not significant.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Practicing since :1994

Answered : 12314 Questions

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What Does The Brain MRI Report Indicate?

Brief Answer: Not significant. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for posting your query. Hyperintense lesions in the frontal cortex in the white matter is a normal and common finding. They represent ischemia (lack of blood flow) in the small blood vessels of the brain. Hence they are also at times referred to as ischemic small vessel disease. Hence these lesions are more commonly seen in the MRI of patients who have cerebrovascular risk factors like hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol as well those that smoke. Their incidence increases with age. These lesions are responsible for memory impairment (vascular dementia) in some individuals. A neurological examination to look for cognitive impairment is needed in case the lesions are progressively increasing in subsequent MRI scans. A single small lesion is usually not worrisome and is not significant. I hope this answers your query. In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out. Wishing you good health. Regards. Dr. Praveen Tayal. For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal