<human>: I have had a couple MRIs lately as a control subject for several memory and aging studies (I appear to be aging normally without dementia , huntington s disease, etc.) After a recent MRI, I got a call from my doctor that he had gotten a report from the imaging center about an anomylous result. This is what the report says: Sagittal T1 3D IRFSPGR, axial DTI, and axial HARDI research sequences were obtained at 3 Tesla. Limited research MRI demonstrating apparent T1 hypointensity of the visualized cervical spine which could be related to anemia or infiltrating marrow process. Recommend correlation with patient s medical history. I recently had a routine physical and follow-up blood testing which would eliminate anemia as a problem. My doctor is unclear about what the cause of this result could be. I looked around online and noticed the other people who have had MRIs have had some underlying physical problem they have been trying to treat. However, while I have had arthritis in my neck for some time and have a limited range of motion, I feel great, and have no symptoms like pain or anything else. Can you help me understand what this MRI finding means and what my follow-up actions should be? Thank you!
<bot>: HiT hank you for the question. As the MRI report rightly mentions it may be an infiltrating marrow process. In the absence of any history of pain, stiffness of neck it is difficult to comment about origin of the lesion. If you have any symptoms like chest pain, cough, fever, pain in abdomen, blood in stools or weak urinary stream please see a doctor for evaluation of those. If there is any back pain, MRI of rest of the spine is recommended. In the absence of these symptoms or signs and with no suggestive history repeat the MRI at 6 months or earlier if symptoms develop. Hope this is helpful. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.