Brain MRI

Hello,

I’ve posted on here a couple of times before. I am now at the stage where I am waiting for an MRI on my brain only. I’m not sure why the neurologist didn’t want to include my spine. He warned me that one in four scans show abnormalities where there are none. Is this correct? I was under the impression that MRIs were very accurate. Of course, the scan can only show what is there, the diagnosis of what a lesion or other result may indicate is down to the skill of the diagnostician reading the scan. Even so, a 25% inaccuracy rate seems pretty high to me.

Helen

Hi Helen, It seems that MRIs have their limitations. I was told by my MS Nurse that my last scan was discussed by the neurologist together with a neuroradiologist in order to interpret the images. Regards, Anthony

Hello Anthony, thank you for your comment. After posting I watched a couple of YouTube videos (one featuring a neurologist and a person with MS in conversation) which were very helpful. The neurologist made the point that the MRI results are just part of the information looked at to make a diagnosis (or not). They cannot be used to diagnose in isolation. I hadn’t realised that lesions can be caused by migraines, diabetes, other illnesses, and ageing blood vessels.

Helen