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Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Assessing Iron Deposition in the Brains of 5xFAD Mice by Perls'/DAB Staining
Published on: May 23, 2025
Quantitative susceptibility mapping reveals abnormal iron reduction in deep gray matter of children with global
Tianyu Li1,2, Xin Zhao1,2, Liang Zhou1,2
1The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, No. 7, Kangfu Front Street, Erqi District, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, 450052, China.
Background:
Global developmental delay is a common pediatric condition that affects multiple developmental domains. Emerging evidence suggests that iron deposition in the deep gray matter nuclei may play a critical role in neurodevelopmental processes. However, brain iron deposition in children with global developmental delay remains insufficiently characterized.
Objective:
This study aimed to investigate abnormal brain iron deposition patterns on neuroimaging in children with global developmental delay, with the goal of facilitating early detection, timely diagnosis, and targeted intervention.
Materials And Methods:
This study enrolled 71 children with global developmental delay and 31 typically developing controls. Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) data were acquired using a 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner and post-processed on the MATLAB platform. Between-group comparisons of susceptibility values in the deep gray matter nuclei were performed, followed by correlation analyses between regional susceptibility values and Gesell Developmental Scale scores in the differentially affected brain regions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess the diagnostic performance of quantitative susceptibility mapping. The Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate (FDR) method was applied, with significance set at corrected P<0.05.
Results:
Children in the global developmental delay group exhibited significantly lower magnetic susceptibility in the bilateral thalamus, substantia nigra, and dentate nucleus (all P<0.05). Susceptibility values of the bilateral dentate nucleus were positively correlated with gross motor and personal-social Gesell sub-scores (right dentate nucleus: r=0.41, P<0.001 and r=0.26, P=0.027; left dentate nucleus: r=0.36, P=0.002 and r=0.26, P=0.026). ROC analysis showed that the right dentate nucleus had the highest area under the curve (AUC=0.83).
Conclusion:
Children with global developmental delay demonstrate decreased magnetic susceptibility within the deep gray matter nuclei, which supports imaging-based inference of dysregulated brain iron metabolism, potentially reflecting underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of neurodevelopment.
