[Study on hemosiderin deposition after intracerebral hemorrhage]

Hemosiderin degenerated from intracerebral hematoma (ICH) can be visualized as low intensity on gradient-echo T2*-weighted (T2*-w) MRI, which is sensitive for hemosiderin. We studied the factors associated with the hemosiderin deposition on T2*-w MRI after ICH.

We analyzed T2*-w MRIs in 72 outpatients with past ICH (46 males, 26 females, 28-89 (60.0 +/- 9.8) years old) consecutively came to our hospital. The odds ratio (OR) for the apparent thickness > or = 2.5 mm of low intensity surrounding ICH cavity was estimated, using the time after the onset of ICH (17 weeks - 26 years), and other factors.

All of old ICHs were visible as low intensities on T2*-w MRI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that an elevated ratio of the apparent thickness > or = 2.5 mm of hemosiderin was found for the patients with time > or =5 years between T2*-w MRI and the onset (odds ratio (OR): 0.24, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.06-0.99), intraventricular or subarachnoid hemorrhage related to ICH (OR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.03-0.77), and the diameter of ICH > or =2 cm (OR: 33.7, 95% CI: 4.6-245).

Though small sample size limited the power of analyses, our findings suggest that the amount of hemosiderin deposition after ICH may be associated with the time after the onset, intraventricular or subarachnoid hemorrhage related to ICH, and the diameter of ICH.