[Multiple sclerosis--how specific is MRI?]

Lesions detected in the white matter by T2-weighted MRI are often inadvertently attributed to multiple sclerosis (MS). This can, as in the following case of a 34-year-old woman, lead to an incorrect diagnosis. The patient had a left-sided atrial myxoma that served as a source of emboli, leading to multiple lacunar lesions. These were incorrectly interpreted as consistent with MS. We discuss the MRT criteria that can lead to specificity of lesions in white matter in patients with clinical symptoms suggestive of MS.