Anna I. Blazejewska1, Ali Al-Radaideh2, Samuel Wharton, Su Yin Lim3, Cris S. Constantinescu3, Richard W. Bowtell, Penny A. Gowland
1Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom; 2Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre , University of Nottingham; 3Department of Neurology, Clinical Sciences, University of Nottingham
MR changes associated with increased iron content have been consistently reported for most deep grey matter structures in multiple sclerosis, but results for the Substantia Nigra (SN) and Red Nucleus (RN) remain inconsistent. We assessed iron content in the SN and RN of patients with CIS and RRMS compared to healthy controls using susceptibility mapping and T2*-weighted (T2*w) signals measured at 7T. We found significant increase in susceptibility in MS patients in RN and SN (particularly in its dorsal part which is consistent with patterns of iron deposition seen in other neurodegenerative diseases). A non-significant decrease in T2*w was found.