Question 1

57 yr female.  increasing fatigue - mental and physical.  balance issues, blurry vision when tired and headaches.  recent brain mri reported 'fairly extensive cerebral hyperintensities'. poss chronic microvascular ischemia or demyel process. serious?

Accepted Answer

: The MRI is nonspecific and nondiagnostic and the correlations could include many other entities.  But am concerned regarding fatigue, potential cognitive issues, associated with imbalance, and visual changes.  See a neurologist, and get full evaluation.  A lumbar puncture for spinal fluid analysis may provide answers, but blood studies would also be helpful

Question 2

can microvascular ischemia (brain) be treated?

Accepted Answer

Prevention: Fixed strokes have no trearment. However, prevention with treatment of underlying treatable conditions is key. Also, many people have microvascular ischemia, but many don't have prominent symptoms from this.

Question 3

i have just been diagnsed with brain stem ischemia after a fall 5 years ago. it is chronic and stable. i continue to have symptoms. is there any tx?

Accepted Answer

TIA's: Decreased blood flow to the brainstem can be a warning of an eventual stroke, and suggests some obstruction in the vertebral-basilar system.  You might wonder about neck arthritis causing kinking of the vertebral at the foramen transversarum, but prior risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes may be contributing to thrombosis. Antiplatelet drugs may help.  Decide with your doctor.

Question 4

brain mri result any consideration? 2 small punctate foci of t2 prolongation. these are nonspecific and may be due to chronic small vessel ischemia, migraine, or other cause of gliosis. demyelinating disease is not excluded but there are no distinct?

Accepted Answer

: The interpretation of this MRI is highly dependent on the medical history and neurology exam. You should discuss with your neurologist or request to be seen by a neurologist if you have not seen one. Good luck.

Question 5

hello dr, i had a mri of my brain. it came back as slight chronic microvascular ischemic changes. what does that mean? also what does a air cell mean?

Accepted Answer

Aging changes: As we get older, arteries harden and we see small vessel changes in the brain due to aging. They simply mean the brain doesn't work as well as it did when we are young and mostly attest to our slowly diminishing function. These are microvascular ischemic changes.  You probably don't notice these changes.
Air cells are bony areas of the skull with air spaces in them- normal.

Question 6

microvascular chronic ischemic in brain can affect memory?

Accepted Answer

Sure can: We term multiple small strokes, lacunar infarcts, and these can mount up and produce "etat lacunaire", or full blown vascular dementia.  Here, the job involves prevention with an appropriate stroke anti platelet, or anti-coagulant approach.

Question 7

can diabetes cause chronic microvascular ischemic change in brain?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately YES: Diabetes is one of many causes of accelerated cerebral artery and arteriole constriction due to atherosclerosis.  Other causes include aging, hypertension, high lipids, elevated homocysteine, and perhaps vasculitis or arteritis.  In some cases, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome may be a culprit.  These lesions may warn of future stroke.

Question 8

is it normal for a 42 yr old female to have chronic microvascular ischemic changes of the brain & what could be the cause? history chronic muscle pn

Accepted Answer

Brain: My opinion on chronic microvascular changes...Most important is how bad. Sometimes there are a few small speckles seen in people with migraines that are definitely not worrisome. Otherwise risk factors for this are: smoking, high bp/cholesterol, diabetes, drug use, and genetics...Among other rare causes. My biggest recs would be to work on any changeable things like some of these.

Question 9

i was treated for a pulmonary avm that had been undetected for years. screened for brain avm & mri found chronic small vessel territory infarcts in left cerebellar hemisphere/chronic microvascular ischemic white matter changes. what is it? treatment?

Accepted Answer

Infarcts: In my experience the usual cause of these findings, which are often not symptomatic, is longstanding  hypertension of varying degree. A neurologist could evaluate and advise you further about these findings and their causes. I would strive for a blood pressure of no higher than 130/80 going forward.

Question 10

at different times over the past 2 years on both my brain and heart mri there has been noted "chronic microvascular disease" changes. what is this?

Accepted Answer

Tiny artery disease: Micro vascular disease is inside matrix changes with decrease blood flow in tiny arteries effecting brain, heart and kidneys. Also known arteriosclerosis  and different from large blood vessel disease[atherosclerosis]with no plaques. Causes are blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, uric acid, arthritis, poly cystic ovary. Effects;mini stroke, angina, heart attack and kidney failure. Treat the disease.

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Doctor answers about:

Chronic microvascular ischemia brain

A member asked:

57 yr female. increasing fatigue - mental and physical. balance issues, blurry vision when tired and headaches. recent brain mri reported 'fairly extensive cerebral hyperintensities'. poss chronic microvascular ischemia or demyel process. serious?

A member asked:

Can microvascular ischemia (brain) be treated?

A member asked:

I have just been diagnsed with brain stem ischemia after a fall 5 years ago. it is chronic and stable. i continue to have symptoms. is there any tx?

A member asked:

Brain mri result any consideration? 2 small punctate foci of t2 prolongation. these are nonspecific and may be due to chronic small vessel ischemia, migraine, or other cause of gliosis. demyelinating disease is not excluded but there are no distinct?

A member asked:

Hello dr, i had a mri of my brain. it came back as slight chronic microvascular ischemic changes. what does that mean? also what does a air cell mean?

A member asked:

Microvascular chronic ischemic in brain can affect memory?

A member asked:

Can diabetes cause chronic microvascular ischemic change in brain?

A member asked:

Is it normal for a 42 yr old female to have chronic microvascular ischemic changes of the brain & what could be the cause? history chronic muscle pn

A member asked:

I was treated for a pulmonary avm that had been undetected for years. screened for brain avm & mri found chronic small vessel territory infarcts in left cerebellar hemisphere/chronic microvascular ischemic white matter changes. what is it? treatment?

A member asked:

At different times over the past 2 years on both my brain and heart mri there has been noted "chronic microvascular disease" changes. what is this?

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