Many people are told they have “white matter lesions, or spots” on the MRI of the brain..I actually published an article on MRI in Migraineurs, talking about these lesions(WMLs) in 1992……people often ask exactly what, if anything, do they mean??

Recent studies have indicated that these WMLs may be correlated with small problems in memory and “higher executive(cognitive) functioning”….but the more concerning evidence, as recently revealed in the journal Neurology, is of more serious concerns..those with more WMLs had a higher risk for cardiac problems. Stroke risk may also be increased….

So, practically, what to do??..risk factors are crucial to attend to…weight, cholesterol, HTN(hypertension), diabetes(and of course family history, but can’t do much about that)…exercise, keep weight off, take meds for high cholesterol(if appropriate..and the “statins”, for cholesterol, recently were discovered to help with migraines also) AND…consider, if recommended by your doctor of course, take aspirin……..to prevent stroke and heart attacks(and aspirin helps prevent a # of cancers as well…the downside is an increased risk of GI bleeding)…..