title: No evidence for increased brain iron deposition in patients with ischemic white matter disease.
abstract: Besides specific iron accumulation in some neurodegenerative disorders, increased iron deposition in cerebral deep gray matter (DGM) is found in multiple sclerosis. As this is considered largely a white matter (WM) disease, we speculated that patients with more severe ischemic WM hyperintensities (WMH) might also have an increased iron concentration in DGM structures and tested this assumption by using magnetic resonance imaging-based quantitative R2* relaxometry. WMH severity was measured in 61 patients with acute transient neurological symptoms (mean age: 71.5 ± 8.3 years) undergoing 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Despite a 6-year higher age of patients with more severe (i.e., early confluent or confluent) WMH, their DGM R2* rates did not differ from patients with punctate or no WMH. In the globus pallidum, R2* rates were even lower in patients with severe WMH. WMH volume was not correlated with R2* levels in any of the analyzed DGM structures. These findings argue against WM damage per se causing increased DGM iron deposition in multiple sclerosis and suggest no role of iron accumulation in ischemic small vessel disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gattringer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. Electronic address: michael.khalil@medunigraz.at.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Langkammer
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuroradiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jehna
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pichler
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pinter
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kneihsl
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: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ropele
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fazekas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria; Division of Neuroradiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology, Medical University of Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Enzinger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D066127:White Matter / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
keywords: Brain iron; Cerebral small vessel disease; MRI; R2* relaxation rate mapping; White matter hyperintensities