The white spots on brain MRI mean white matter hyperintensities which can mean various different underlying conditions.
White spots on brain MRI or white matter hyperintensities are common in older people, often as a result of small vessel disease, "narrowing of blood vessels in your brain".
The white matter hyperintensities are also characteristic of multiple sclerosis, which is an autoimmune disease that damages the myelin sheath, "protective covering" around the nerve fibers.
Even chronic migraines and small strokes or transient ischemic attacks can result in white matter hyperintensities.
Having white spots on a brain MRI is not always a reason to worry although it can sometimes be serious and in some cases the white spots on brain MRI can be a result of vitamin deficiencies, infections and even migraines.
Also having any cardiovascular risk factors like elevated blood sugar from diabetes, high blood pressure, high dietary fat intake, high cholesterol and even smoking can also increase the number of white matter spots or lesions in your brain.
White matter lesions, which are visualized as hyperintensities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, signify abnormal myelination in the brain and can serve as markers for small vessel disease.
The white matter lesions are considered a marker of small vessel disease.
However, there are numerous non-vascular causes, as well.
Malignant tissue can also show up on MRI images as a white or very light mass, whereas it would be dark in color on an ultrasound image.
Contrast dye, which is a substance injected into the body before some MRI scans, enables a malignant tumor to appear more brightly on MRI scan images.