Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026
Assessing Cortical Cerebral Microinfarcts on High Resolution MR Images
Published on: November 20, 2015
Cerebral microhemorrhage and iron deposition in mild cognitive impairment: susceptibility-weighted MR imaging
Sven Haller1, Andreas Bartsch, Duy Nguyen
1Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, DISIM, University Hospitals of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle Perret-Gentil 4, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland. sven.haller@hcuge.ch
Purpose:
To test whether susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging at baseline may help predict cognitive decline.
Materials And Methods:
This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Thirty-five healthy control subjects and 69 patients with mild cognitive impairment were included. Patients with mild cognitive impairment underwent neuropsychologic follow-up after 1 year (40 patients with stable mild cognitive impairment, 27 with progressive mild cognitive impairment, and two lost to follow-up). Cerebral microhemorrhages were visually analyzed by two experienced neuroradiologists in consensus. Iron deposition in deep gray matter was assessed with voxel-wise and region-of-interest analysis after nonlinear spatial registration. In addition, individual classification of mild cognitive impairment was analyzed by using a support vector machine (SVM).
Results:
At baseline, the number of cerebral microhemorrhages was significantly higher in the mild cognitive impairment group than in the control group (P < .01) but did not differ between the patients with stable and those with progressive mild cognitive impairment. Compared with the control group, patients with mild cognitive impairment had increased iron concentration in the right pallidum (P < .01) and right substantia nigra (P < .01) but decreased concentration in the right red nucleus (P < .05). The classification based on the SVM successfully helped discriminate patients with mild cognitive impairment from the healthy control subjects (accuracy, 84%; sensitivity, 89%; specificity, 85%) and those with stable from those with progressive mild cognitive impairment (accuracy, 85%; sensitivity, 84%; specificity, 83%).
Conclusion:
The findings reveal an accumulation of cerebral microhemorrhage in patients with mild cognitive impairment that is present at baseline, independent of subsequent cognitive decline, as well as an altered iron distribution in subcortical nuclei between the healthy control subjects and patients with mild cognitive impairment. Analysis of iron deposition at baseline performed with an SVM might help identify individual patients with mild cognitive impairment at risk for cognitive decline.
Supplemental Material:
http://radiology.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/radiol.10100612/-/DC1.
Insights
Susceptibility-weighted imaging can detect cerebral microhemorrhages and altered iron distribution in patients with mild cognitive impairment. This may help predict future cognitive decline and identify individuals at risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- Radiology
Background:
- Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a precursor to dementia.
- Early detection of MCI progression is crucial for timely intervention.
- Identifying biomarkers for MCI progression is an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the predictive value of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) at baseline for cognitive decline in individuals with MCI.
- To assess iron deposition patterns in deep gray matter nuclei in MCI patients compared to healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study including 69 MCI patients and 35 healthy controls.
- SWI was used to assess cerebral microhemorrhages.
- Iron concentration in deep gray matter was analyzed using voxel-wise and region-of-interest methods.
- A support vector machine (SVM) was employed for classification of MCI and prediction of progression.
Main Results:
- MCI patients exhibited a higher number of cerebral microhemorrhages at baseline compared to controls.
- Altered iron distribution was observed in subcortical nuclei of MCI patients.
- SVM achieved high accuracy (84-85%) in discriminating MCI from controls and predicting MCI progression.
Conclusions:
- Cerebral microhemorrhages and altered iron distribution are present at baseline in MCI patients, irrespective of subsequent cognitive decline.
- SWI analysis, particularly iron deposition patterns assessed by SVM, shows potential for identifying MCI patients at risk of cognitive decline.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Hemorrhagic Stroke l: Introduction
01:22Dementia l: Introduction