Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate alterations in the levels of iron, divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) with the iron-responsive element (IRE), transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), ferroportin 1 (FPN1), and iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) in the temporal cortex of human brains with Parkinson disease (PD).Methods: Iron content was measured using an ICP-MS 7500CE detector. IRP1, DMT11IRE, TfR1, and FPN1 expressions were determined by Western blotting.Results: Iron content was significantly lower in the temporal cortex of patients with PD when compared with age-matched healthy controls. Unexpectedly, the levels of DMT11IRE, TfR1, FPN1, and IRP1 were decreased in the temporal cortex in PD brains. No changes were observed in the temporal cortex of postmortem Alzheimer disease brains.Conclusions: Iron deprivation and iron-related protein dysregulation suggest that a different iron regulatory mechanism may exist, and that iron redistribution may occur between the temporal cortex and the substantia nigra of patients with PD. Neurology Postmortem studies have demonstrated that iron selectively accumulates in the substantia nigra (SN) of patients with Parkinson disease (PD).1 The dysregulation of iron transporters is thought to contribute to iron deposition in PD. Recently, increased expression of the iron importer divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) with the iron-responsive element (IRE, DMT1+IRE) has been reported in the SN of postmortem PD brains.2 Meanwhile, the downregulation of ferroportin 1 (FPN1), an iron exporter, was also suggested to be related to 6-hydroxydopamineinduced nigral iron accumulation. 3 However, it is unknown whether iron metabolism is disrupted in brain regions other than the SN (e.g., the cerebral cortex) and how this occurs. In this study, we investigated iron content in the temporal cortex of postmortem PD brains. Unexpectedly, we observed decreased iron content in this brain region in PD but not in Alzheimer disease (AD). To investigate the underlying mechanism, we further evaluated alterations in transporter expression, particularly DMT11IRE, FPN1, and transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). In PD brains, we observed decreased protein levels of DMT11IRE, FPN1, and TfR1, and decreased expression of iron regulatory protein 1 (IRP1) in the cortex. These results imply that a different iron regulatory mechanism may exist in the temporal cortex, and that iron redistribution might occur between the cortex and SN in PD.METHODS Subjects. The patients were recruited from Sun City, Arizona, a major suburb of Phoenix with a population of approximately 70