title: R2* mapping for brain iron: associations with cognition in normal aging.
abstract: Brain iron accumulates during aging and has been associated with neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. Magnetic resonance (MR)-based R2* mapping enables the in vivo detection of iron content in brain tissue. We investigated if during normal brain aging iron load relates to cognitive impairment in region-specific patterns in a community-dwelling cohort of 336 healthy, middle aged, and older adults from the Austrian Stroke Prevention Family Study. MR imaging and R2* mapping in the basal ganglia and neocortex were done at 3T. Comprehensive neuropsychological testing assessed memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed. We found the highest iron concentration in the globus pallidus, and pallidal and putaminal iron was significantly and inversely associated with cognitive performance in all cognitive domains, except memory. These associations were iron load dependent. Vascular brain lesions and brain volume did not mediate the relationship between iron and cognitive performance. We conclude that higher R2*-determined iron in the basal ganglia correlates with cognitive impairment during brain aging independent of concomitant brain abnormalities. The prognostic significance of this finding needs to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ghadery
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pirpamer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics, and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hofer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Langkammer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petrovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loitfelder
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schwingenschuh
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seiler
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research and Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duering
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale unité mixte de recherché-740, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Lariboisière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jouvent
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology and Medical Biochemistry, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fazekas
authors.affiliation: NeuroSpin, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique Saclay, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Francois
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Mangin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale unité mixte de recherché-740, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Lariboisière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Hugues
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chabriat
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research and Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany; Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dichgans
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ropele
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: reinhold.schmidt@medunigraz.at.
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D007501:Iron
keywords: All cognitive disorders/dementia; Cognition; Cognitive aging; MRI; R2* brain iron mapping