Positive lumbar puncture O BANDS IN CSF ONLY

HI everyone, How many ppl here had posive oligoclonal bands in there csf only after a LP and spots on a MRI. My neuro suspects MS however what else causes o bands and spots on a mri apart from ms. What other diseases are associatws with o bands?

Hi Anon and welcome…

As you probably know, there is no single test for MS. A neurologist looks at your symptoms, your symptom history, how your body reacts to certain tests, the results of brain or/and spine MRI and the result of LP.

When they do the LP they also take a blood test. If there are oligoclonal bands in the cfs AND the blood it means there is a major infection… because it shows that the immune system has been active in both the brain and the blood.

If the oligoclonal bands are found only in the cfs, and not in the blood, it shows that the immune system has been active in the brain (and not the blood). This, together with symptoms and the MRI results will very often lead to a dx of MS.

So therefore it’s no wonder your neurologist suspects MS. In fact very often people will get the definite dx of MS after the LP with that result (I did).

When are you seeing the neurologist again?

I think it highly likely you will get a dx of MS… BUT please be aware that I am NOT a health professional… just a person with MS and a bit of acquired knowledge… so keep an open mind as I might be wrong and I do not have any idea of your symptoms.

As you might realise from reading posts on this forum, MS is certainly NOT the end of the world… or the end of your life. It is NOT a terminal illness, and with the help of drugs most people with MS can continue to live a pretty normal life… work, holidays, relationships, babies, driving, etc etc. Even when MS has more of an impact, our lives can still be good, happy and well worth living.

Hope this helps. I have given you an honest answer and I hope you are seeing the neurologist soon so you can find out exactly what he/she thinks.

Take care and best of luck. This is the best place to be for support, advice and friendship. There is really no reason to go anon… nobody knows who you are really. Hope it all goes ok.

Pat x

Thanks Pat thats really nice but just wondering what other diseases can showthese bands?

Hi Nazra, I’m not quite sure actually. I think in research a small amount of perfectly healthy people show oligoclonal bands in their cfs… but generally, if you have symptoms which are typical of MS, with spots (lesions) showing on your MRI, and oligoclonal bands in cfs, it all looks very much like a dx of MS.

On googling it, I found this wiki link which does list other conditions that show bands:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligoclonal_band

I really think you (if you are Anon of original post?) need to speak to the neurologist asap so you are not stuck in this limbo land.

Hope this helps,

Pat x