Ulrike Dydak1,2, Jun
Xu1,2, Ashritha Epur2, Xiangrong Li3, Seth
Streitmatter1, Li-Ling Long3, Wei Zheng1,
Yue-Ming Jiang4
1School of Health
Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA; 2Department
of Radiology & Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine,
Indianapolis, IN, USA; 3Department of Radiology, Guangxi Medical
University, Nanning, China, People's Republic of; 4Department of
Health Toxicology, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China, People's
Republic of
A 3D whole-brain T1-weigthed sequence was used to study the human brain structures showing T1 hyperintensities due to occupational Mn exposure in a cohort of smelters and welders. Brain regions showing Mn accumulation were compared to non-exposed controls as well as to a rat model of chronic Mn exposure. While the rat brain predominantly shows Mn accumulation in hippocampus, in humans Mn first accumulates in the globus pallidus. T1 hyperintensities were also found in subthalamic nucleus, pituitary gland, pineal stalk and cerebral peduncle. These differences need to be considered when using animal models to study chronic Mn exposure.