Iron quantification in basal ganglia using quantitative susceptibility mapping in a patient with ALS: a case report and literature review

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Neuroscience

Sana Mohammadi¹  Seyed Amir Hossein Batouli²  Sadegh Ghaderi³  Farzad Fatehi⁴ 

[1] Department of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Neuromuscular Research Center, Department of Neurology, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;Neuromuscular Research Center, Department of Neurology, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

关键词: MRI;    QSM;    ALS;    basal ganglia;    iron;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnins.2023.1229082

 received in 2023-05-26, accepted in 2023-09-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundQuantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that can measure the magnetic susceptibility of tissues, which can reflect their iron content. QSM has been used to detect iron accumulation in cortical and subcortical brain regions. However, its application in subcortical regions such as the basal ganglia, particularly the putamen, is rare in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Case presentation and literature reviewWe present the case of a 40-year-old male patient with ALS who underwent an MRI for QSM. We compared his QSM images with those of a control subject and performed a quantitative analysis of the magnetic susceptibility values in the putamen regions. We also reviewed the literature on previous QSM studies in ALS and summarized their methods and findings. Our QSM analysis revealed increased magnetic susceptibility values in the bilateral putamen of the ALS patient compared to controls, indicating iron overload. This finding is consistent with previous studies reporting iron dysregulation in subcortical nuclei in ALS. We also discussed the QSM processing techniques used in our study and in the literature, highlighting their advantages and limitations.ConclusionThis case report demonstrates the potential of QSM as a sensitive MRI biomarker for evaluating iron levels in subcortical regions of ALS patients. QSM can provide quantitative information on iron deposition patterns in both motor and extra-motor areas of ALS patients, which may help understand the pathophysiology of ALS and monitor disease progression. Further studies with larger samples are needed to validate these results and explore the clinical implications of QSM in ALS.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Ghaderi, Batouli, Mohammadi and Fatehi.