title: Magnetic resonance imaging of brain iron in health and disease.
abstract: Brain iron is a major contributor to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast in normal gray matter, and its role in the pathogenesis of different neurological disorders has also become apparent. Non-heme brain iron is present in the brain mainly in the form of ferritin. The unique magnetic properties of ferritin determine different signal changes on both T1- and T2-weighted images, and the T2 relaxation rates have a linear dependence on applied field strength. This finding is typical for ferric oxyhydroxide cores. The resulting T2-shortening also depends on echo-spacing used in the imaging sequence as well as on the water diffusion coefficient and the size of the ferritin cluster. Quantitation of non-heme brain iron by MRI aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of different neurological diseases.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vymazal
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Patronas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hajek
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Bulte
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Chiro
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D007501:Iron