Lesion in posteria fossa?

[Peglegs]

Hi all, I am not sure if I am in the right place but......

I have been having lots of odd symptoms and have been feeling unwell for sometime now.

I thought my smptoms pointed to intracranial hypotension but I saw a neuro today and he did the reflex tests etc and asked lots of questions.

He said he will be sending me for an EMG and mentioned peripheral neuropathy (I have lots of numbness in my left hand and foot) and I also get burning sensations on my skin and it is sore to touch.

I have to go for an MRA as he is not sure if I have problems with my vessels in my brain as I have lots of headaches and hearing problems too (he is referring me to an ENT).

Bu tthe thing is, when I read the MRA form, it stated 'plantar response (R) equivocal (L)'.....can someone explain to me what this means please.

The form also stated 'lesion in posteria fossa?' (I am focussing on the question mark!).

I had a look for this and most sites talk about MS where lesions are concerned, but I also read it was a tumour (which I am completely ignoring).

Sorry if I haven't put much info down but am exhausted and brain not working.

Thanks

[agate]

So sorry you've been having new problems, Peg.

Was the neuro you saw a new doctor or one you've seen before?

Usually if they say you have a plantar response they mean it's abnormal. What they're saying about you is that your right foot showed a plantar response (positive Babinski sign) but they couldn't tell about the left foot. Sometimes it can't be determined because of the way the toes move when the test is done.

"Lesion in posterior fossa" means that a lesion was found in that part of your brain.

EDITED TO ADD: A little more digging and I find that posterior fossa lesions aren't so very common in MS but they do occur:

Posterior fossa lesions occur in less than 10% of adult MS cases, but are more common in children [1].

Quoted from the University of Rochester Medical Center,
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I hope that your doctor can find ways to treat your symptoms.

[Peglegs]

Morning Agate and thanks for reply.

I went to A and E and they sent a direct referral to the neuro. He is the first neuro that I have seen.

I am due an MRA Agate, so they just suspect 'lesion in posterior fossa'.

When he was doing the foot test, he done it over and over and over esp the right then preceded to dig the top part of my foot asking if I was sure I could feel it - I said yes (but I could also feel it in my toe for some reason!).

I have looked up babinski and it says about the pyramidal tract, symptoms but nothing what this could mean. What could this plantar response mean as I also have read that there are no false positives, so something is definitely going on.

What is an MRA like? I have had MRI which didn't bother me at all.

I haven't felt myself in a long time and this has me worried - I didn't ask the neuro anything - it all went out of my mind!

[agate]

Babinski reflex is explained here:

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There are two ways of talking about the Babinski reflex, and it gets confusing. One version says that any Babinski reflex is abnormal, and in this version the Babinski reflex means the upgoing toe. The other version is the one given in the video link above. It says that a normal plantar (Babinski) reflex is no response to the stimulus or a downward moving toe, and an abnormal one is the upgoing toe.

Everyone has plantar reflexes, and the "Babinski sign"--the upgoing toe--is an abnormal plantar reflex. That's probably the clearest way of looking at it.

The positive Babinski is one of the most clear-cut signs the neuros have that there is a neurological problem. They put a lot of stock in that Babinksi response. So it's not surprising that the neuro tested and retested yours.

Many people with MS for any length of time will have a positive Babinski sign but it can also point to a number of other neurological problems.

I haven't ever had an MRA but someone might come along who can help you on that question. This might give some information:

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[Peglegs]

Do you know what ohter neurological conditions that positve plantar response could mean Agate.

I have only found that it means something going on in pyramidal tract but that means nothing to me. Thanks for the link by the way :)

[agate]

There is a list of possibilities here:

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