MRI

The Importance Of Your MRI Scan

Understanding MRI imaging in MS

MRI is used to help diagnose MS. It can be helpful in managing MS, too. Some people with MS avoid MRI scans. They do not want to "see" their chronic disease activity. But it's important to know how much disease activity is happening in your body.

MRI can be more than a diagnostic tool. Regular, repeated MRI scans can help your doctor manage your MS by monitoring disease activity. The scans are noninvasive and can be used many times over the years. Your doctor can compare results of one MRI with another. This helps your doctor monitor disease activity and track disease progression.

Two types of MRI scans commonly used in MS are:

• T1-weighted scans with gadolinium (Gd) enhancement: reveal new, active lesions
• T2-weighted scans: show both the activity and area of new lesions as well as older inactive lesions

Together, these MRI scans can give a comprehensive picture of short-term and long-term disease activity.

How MRIs detect MS lesions

In MS, an MRI is used to take detailed pictures of the brain and spinal cord. MRI scans show the amount of water in tissues. MS lesions have higher-than-normal water content. MRI uses a very large and very strong magnet to find these lesions. It takes detailed pictures of the central nervous system (CNS). These pictures show the areas of damage.

Lesions cause MS symptoms. How your symptoms affect you depends on where the lesions form in the brain and spinal cord. For example, a lesion in the spinal cord may cause limbs to be numb. Yet, many lesions, even large ones, are often "clinically silent." That means they don't produce symptoms.

The more lesions you have, the more damage may occur. The more damage, the higher your risk of disability.

MRI can show you and your doctor how well your treatment is working

MRI scans are also an important part of managing and treating MS. It can help you and your doctor see the progression of your disease and how well your treatment is working.

For example, if you are taking a medication and your MRI scan shows an increase in lesion activity, you and your doctor may want to discuss a better treatment option for you. Also, by using MRI regularly, your doctor can see how your MS is progressing — even when you're not feeling symptoms. However, it is important to note that MRI results and a patient's symptoms and disability status may or may not match.

MRI is noninvasive. It can be used many times over the years. This allows your doctor to compare results from one MRI to another and monitor the progress of the disease.

The exact correlation between MRI findings and the current or future clinical status of patients, including disability progression, is unknown.

Talk to your doctor about having regular, repeated MRIs.

Your doctor might want you to get an MRI scan. He or she will send you to an imaging center or a hospital near you. A technician will perform an MRI scan. A written report is then sent to your doctor. This report will help your doctor choose the right treatment. Having regular, repeated MRIs will help you manage your MS better and take a more active role in your treatment.

Having trouble getting your insurance company to cover the cost of an MRI scan?

The MRI Institute* has a program designed for patients who have no or inadequate insurance, and/or no or inadequate financial means to pay for the test themselves. Download a brochure on the MRI Institute to learn more and to see if you are eligible to apply for assistance (applications are also available for download). For more information please contact the MRI Institute at the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America website. Patients needing an MRI exam specifically to determine a diagnosis of MS are not eligible for this program.