Xu Li1,2, Hongjun Liu1,2, Richard P Allen3, Christopher J Earley3, Richard A.E. Edden1,2, Peter B Barker1,2, Tiana Cruz3, and Peter C.M. van Zijl1,2
1F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, 2Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, 3Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
Possible brain iron deficiency was assessed
using quantitative susceptibility mapping at 7T in restless legs syndrome (RLS)
and analyzed with clinical measurements including IRLS severity score, serum
iron, serum ferritin and periodic limb movement during sleep (PLMS). Using
magnetic susceptibility as a brain iron index and compared to control group, significantly
decreased iron was found in RLS patients in dentate nuclei and thalamus, and in
substantia nigra in a subset of RLS patients with severe clinical symptoms with
PLMS larger than 100 times per hour. Significant correlation between PLMS and
brain iron was only found in substantia nigra in RLS.
