Iron deposition in the precuneus is correlated with mild cognitive impairment in patients with cerebral microbleeds: A quantitative susceptibility mapping study

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to define whether mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with iron deposition in rich-club nodes distant from cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD).MethodsA total of 64 participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning and were separated into three groups, namely, CMB(+), CMB(–), and healthy controls (HCs). We compared their characteristics and susceptibility values of rich-club nodes [e.g., superior frontal gyrus (SFG), precuneus, superior occipital gyrus (SOG), thalamus, and putamen]. We then divided the CMB(+) and CMB(–) groups into subgroups of patients with or without MCI. Then, we analyzed the relationship between iron deposition and MCI by comparing the susceptibility values of rich-club nodes. We assessed cognitive functions using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and quantified iron content using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM).ResultsIn the putamen, the CMB(+) and CMB(–) groups had significantly different susceptibility values. Compared with the HCs, the CMB(+) and CMB(–) groups had significantly different susceptibility values for the SFG and SOG. In addition, we found significant differences in the putamen susceptibility values of the CMB(+)MCI(+) group and the two CMB(–) groups. The CMB(+)MCI(+) and CMB(+)MCI(–) groups had significantly different precuneus susceptibility values. The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that only higher susceptibility values of precuneus were associated with a cognitive decline in patients with CMBs, and it indicated statistical significance.ConclusionIron deposition in the precuneus is an independent risk factor for MCI in patients with CMBs. CMBs might influence iron content in remote rich-club nodes and be relevant to MCI.

Multimodal comparisons of QSM and PET in neurodegeneration and aging

“…QSM patterns are likely different in patients with SVD caused by cerebral amyloid angiopathy, which is expected to show paramagnetic susceptibility signal both due to iron colocalized with vascular deposits of amyloid, as described above, and due to microhemorrhages that result from CAA ( Charidimou et al, 2012 ). QSM-MRI is highly sensitive to such cortical microbleeds, even more so than T2* signal, and in combination with FDG-PET can reveal differential etiology of SVD and its impact on brain vascular function ( Lee et al, 2022 ; Tu et al, 2022 ).…”

Deeper insight into ferroptosis: association with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and brain tumors and their possible treatment by nanomaterials induced ferroptosis

“…The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) from the affected patient showed that the affected region had a high iron quantity [ 220 ]. In comparison to a normal individual, an AD patient with mild cognitive dysfunction showed a higher amount of Fe along with an elevated Aβ plaque load in the cortical region that elevated the chances of AD [ 221–223 ]. Numerous investigators showed that an imbalance of iron in brain homeostasis is associated with Aβ plaques and NFTs [ 219 ].…”