What could have caused these lesions?

[alkitsa]

Hi,

Sorry if this is a bit of an "out there" question:

I had a seizure 2 years ago. My neurosurgeon did an MRI and found there to be lesions on my brain (in the white matter). 6 months later, I had another MRI and it appears that the lesions have cleared up. I have not had another seizure since. My neurologist says that his best guess as to what had happened is that I suffered from ADEM (Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis).
However, he wasn't certain that that was the definite cause.

My question is as follows:
I had smoked marijuana causally (about once every 2-4 weeks) with friends before the incident. Could this have been the cause for the brain lesions and seizure? Can marijuana cause such a thing as seen in the attached pictures? Would it be ok for me to smoke again socially?

[Mike Weins]

Hello alkista and welcome to BrainTalk :)

The link to your image has been caught in our anti-spam filter so it won't show up :( If you would let me know which site you hosted the image on I will tweak the filter settings accordingly.

[alkitsa]

Hello alkista and welcome to BrainTalk :)

The link to your image has been caught in our anti-spam filter so it won't show up :( If you would let me know which site you hosted the image on I will tweak the filter settings accordingly.

Thanks.

I used *******.com

[Moderator #7]

Welcome alkitsa!

Unfortunately, when you wrote out the name that Mike requested, the spam filter *'ed it out again.

Please put spaces between the letters of the name or maybe a dash between each letter:

f l i c k e r or f-l-i-c-k-e-r

Thank you and welcome to BT!

[alkitsa]

lol. soz.
t i n y p i c . c o m

[Mike Weins]

I edited the post so the image would show :)

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((alkitsa)))))) ~

Welcome to BrainTalk!

I'm not sure whether we have any members who can read/interpret MRI results. I definitely cannot.

I Googled ADEM, and it seems to occur following a viral or bacterial infection, and it is rare ~ 8 in 1,000,000 cases per year. Did you have any kind of an infection a few weeks prior to your seizure?

Did you mention your marijuana use to your neurosurgeon? He might be the expert to consult for your answer. How many patients has he treated, who had brain lesions and/or seizures as a result of marijuana?

Medical marijuana is being used by patients with epilepsy for seizure control, particularly those patients, who have tried numerous AEDs without success. An oil from marijuana is being used to treat pediatric epilepsy for children with intractable seizures.

Of course, it is also used for cancer patients, AIDS patients, MS and RA patients, etc.

I can't answer your question as to whether the marijuana caused your lesions or seizure, and it's likely none of us can, unless we have a BT member with your same situation.

However, I can suggest that you avoid energy drinks, like Red Bull, and diet sodas. Well, actually all soft drinks. Those have been known to aggravate the brain, resulting in seizures.

May you continue to be seizure-free.

Love & Light,

Rose