Thursday, July 27, 2017

Don't Try This at Home, Kids!

Brain cancer is...

...not to be trusted with the tape. 

After the last (fabulous!) day of summer camp, I was busy grading. Darrell needed a failing array taped down before our walk, but he didn't want to interrupt my grading.  Above you see that he tackled the job himself.

No more tape for you, Darrell. Leave taping to the experts.


Regarding Brain Muck 

"Brain muck" is our own affectionate term for what the MRI results (below) call a "T2 hyperintense nonenhancing focus." 

We did a bit of research to explore the possible make up of a T2 hyperintense nonenhancing focus, and our results shed some light on the mystery of muck.  Click here for the abstract of an article that investigates said foci.

Here it is in a nutshell:  T2 hyperintense nonenhancing foci are very common in brain MRIs.  They are so common that they have another nickname:  UBOs (Unidentified Bright Objects).  The researchers noted that, despite their prevalence, UBOs are very difficult to diagnose.  The researchers conclude that diagnosis cannot be made on the basis of MRI alone and needs to be part of the larger picture.  The researchers examined UBOs on 246 brain MRIs and associated the UBOs with no fewer than 15 different causes.

No wonder Darrell's doctors cannot yet determine the nature of the muck.  It could be one of many things, including "aging brain."  Isn't that a happy thought for us all?  UBOs for everyone!

We plan to take the abstract with us on Darrell's visit to Dr. Park tomorrow.



No comments:

Post a Comment