Iron accumulation in deep gray matter occurs during normal aging, but has also been observed in several neurodegenerative diseases. To investigate if this still holds true for ALS, we aimed at assessing the iron content in deep gray matter structures of 24 ALS patients with quantitative susceptibility mapping and its relation to 28 controls. We did not find any significant differences in iron levels between ALS patients and controls. This may indicate that iron accumulation in deep gray matter is a specific feature that is not associated with neurodegenerative diseases in general, but rather reflects more specific degenerative processes.
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