title: A gradual increase of iron toward the medial-inferior tip of the subthalamic nucleus.
abstract: The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an important node of the cortico-basal ganglia network and the main target of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease. Histological studies have revealed an inhomogeneous iron distribution within the STN, which has been related to putative subdivisions within this nucleus. Here, we investigate the iron distribution in more detail using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast mechanism. QSM allows for detailed assessment of iron content in both in vivo and postmortem tissue. Twelve human participants and 7 postmortem brain samples containing the STN were scanned using ultra-high field 7 Tesla (T) MRI. Iron concentrations were found to be higher in the medial-inferior tip of the STN. Using quantitative methods we show that the increase of iron concentration towards the medial-inferior tip is of a gradual rather than a discrete nature.
authors.affiliation: University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Hollander
authors.forename: Max C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Keuken
authors.forename: Pierre-Louis
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bazin
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reimann
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wähnert
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Birte U
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Forstmann
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schäfer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007501:Iron
keywords: 7T MRI; iron gradients; quantitative susceptibility mapping; subthalamic nucleus