I recently have had an MRI of my brain because I was diagnosed with central sleep apnea. I was told that I have a lot of white matter on my brain, everything else was ok except of some age related issues. I am very fatigued always, hard to stay awake. I m a nurse, working full time. I have been on antidepressants for 3 years (Effexor) and also aderall for depression (loss of daughter, Son with TBI after Iraq deployment). My question is, about this MRI white matter disease, could this be caused by antidepressants, should I see a neurologist? I do not have hi BP or diabetes but my family has had autoimmune issues. Carol Chiesa So surprised that I have to pay for an answer! Not told of this before. Web MD is not being honest about this service, therefore I will go to a neurologist, in person, to answer my questions.
Most likely you have been told finding "white matter changes" in your MRI Brain report. White matter and gray matter are normal parts of the brain. Few CNS diseases involve specifically white matter like desalinating daises (e.g. Acute disseminating encephalomyelitis, Multiple sclerosis, Leukoencephalopathy). Also, white matter ischemic changes can be found in patients suffering from Hypertension, DM)You must go to neurologist to decide nature of your white matter lesions and to correlate clinically too.