Iron deposition in the brain has been implicated in neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s Disease. We used quantitative susceptibility mapping to evaluate iron content in the substantia nigra and red nucleus in 18 patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease (IPD). Susceptibility was calculated for whole structure and a thresholded high-iron region (RII) and compared with controls. We found that global and RII mean susceptibility higher in the substantia nigra compared with normals, and that the slope of RII susceptibility vs age is higher in IPD compared to normals which may suggest an increased rate of iron deposition at disease onset.
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