Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder whose demyelinated plaques may be connected with elevated iron. We combined quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) with histopathological techniques to quantify iron, macrophages/microglia, and pro/anti-inflammatory markers to demonstrate that regions of high susceptibility on QSM correspond to pro-inflammatory iron-positive macrophages/microglia. QSM is therefore a valuable clinical tool to identify smoldering lesions not visible using conventional MRI techniques.
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