FLAIR: Meaning in a Radiology Report

FLAIR

Also written as: fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, T2 FLAIR, T2-FLAIR

FLAIR is a type of MRI image, used mostly for the brain. It turns normal fluid dark, so swelling and small spots in brain tissue stand out as bright.

Seen on: MRI

How it reads in a report

Scattered punctate FLAIR hyperintensities in the periventricular and subcortical white matter are nonspecific, likely related to small vessel disease.

What it means

FLAIR stands for fluid-attenuated inversion recovery. It is a T2-type image with one change: the clear fluid around and inside the brain, called CSF, is made dark. On a regular T2 image that fluid is bright and can hide spots right next to it. With the fluid darkened, swelling, scarring and inflammation in the brain tissue stand out as bright.

When it matters

Small bright FLAIR spots in the white matter, the brain's deeper wiring, are very common. They are more frequent with age, high blood pressure and migraine. The radiologist looks at their number, size, shape and location. Spots in places typical of multiple sclerosis, or ones that are new or growing, get a closer look. Comparison with older scans, and sometimes a scan with contrast, helps.

Questions to ask your doctor

How many bright FLAIR spots are there, and is that usual for my age?
Do they look like small vessel changes, or something else?
Should this be compared with an older brain MRI?

General information, not medical advice. What a finding means for you depends on your symptoms, your history and the images themselves, so talk your results through with a doctor.