Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2025
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Iron deposition in multiple sclerosis: overall load or distribution alteration?
Eman Hamdy1, Aya Abdel Galeel2, Ismail Ramadan3
1Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. eman.ameen@alexmed.edu.eg.
Background:
Though abnormal iron deposition has been reported in specific brain regions in multiple sclerosis (MS), no data exist about whether the overall quantity of iron in the brain is altered or not. We aimed to determine whether the noted aberrant iron deposition in MS brains was a problem of overall load or regional distribution in a cohort of MS patients.
Methods:
An experienced neuroradiologist, a radiology software engineer, and four neurologists analysed data from quantitative susceptibility maps reconstructed from 3-T magnetic resonance brain images of 30 MS patients and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Global brain iron load was calculated, and the regional iron concentrations were assessed in 1,000 regions of interest placed in MS lesions in different locations, normal appearing white matter, thalami, and basal ganglia.
Results:
Global brain iron load was comparable between patients and controls after adjustment for volume (p = 0.660), whereas the regional iron concentrations were significantly different in patients than in control (p ≤ 0.031). There was no significant correlation between global iron load and clinical parameters, whereas regional iron concentrations correlated with patients' age, disease duration, and disability grade (p ≤ 0.039).
Conclusions:
The aberrant iron deposition noted in MS seems to be a problem of regional distribution rather than an altered global brain iron load.
Insights
Multiple sclerosis (MS) brains show abnormal iron deposition in specific regions, not an overall increase in brain iron. Iron accumulation in MS is a regional distribution issue, not a global load problem.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Abnormal iron deposition is observed in specific brain regions in multiple sclerosis (MS).
- Previous studies have not determined if the overall brain iron quantity is altered in MS.
- This study investigates whether aberrant iron deposition in MS is due to global load or regional distribution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if multiple sclerosis involves an altered global brain iron load or a regional distribution of iron.
- To compare global and regional brain iron concentrations between MS patients and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative susceptibility mapping from 3-T MRI scans of 30 MS patients and 15 controls.
- Analysis by neuroradiologists, a radiology software engineer, and neurologists.
- Assessment of global brain iron load and regional iron concentrations in lesions, white matter, thalami, and basal ganglia.
Main Results:
- Global brain iron load was comparable between MS patients and controls after volume adjustment (p = 0.660).
- Regional iron concentrations were significantly different in MS patients compared to controls (p ≤ 0.031).
- Regional iron concentrations, but not global load, correlated with age, disease duration, and disability grade in MS patients (p ≤ 0.039).
Conclusions:
- Aberrant iron deposition in multiple sclerosis is primarily a problem of regional distribution.
- The overall global brain iron load does not appear to be significantly altered in MS.
