The treatment for white matter disease associated with aging usually involves physical therapy, vitamin B-6 and medication management, all of which are treatments that a primary physician prescribes, explains Dr. Timothy Hains from Chicago Dizziness and Hearing. There is no treatment available for white matter disease in children as of 2015, according to AboutKidsHealth.
Research indicates that migraines and high blood pressure contribute to the progression of white matter disease, so doctors sometimes prescribe medications such as the beta-blocker propranolol to help prevent blood pressure spikes. Prevention of migraines is accomplished with a regimen of aspirin and a migraine-controlling medicine such as verapamil, explains Dr. Hains. The patient's primary physician also may prescribe medicine to control dizziness, such as meclizine or clonazepam. If these impair the patient's thinking, the doctor may try a different medicine, such as betahistine.
Research into the causes and possible treatments of white matter disease is underway as of 2015, explains the University of California at Davis Health System Department of Neurology. Doctors there are studying the causes of white matter disease, including possible links between other common health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and heart disease. Once doctors develop a better understanding of why white matter disease occurs, treatments are sure to follow, the UC Davis Health System reports.
