Abstract #3125

Haacke, Ph.D. E, Manova E, Ayaz M

The midbrain area in particular is an important area to examine when investigating neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimers diseases. This region is known to have changes in iron content and recently it has been shown that paramagnetic iron resides in the neuropil and is associated with vessels and vessel wall. Imaging this region with a method sensitive to those iron granules would provide not only valuable anatomical information but also give a clue about the way such neurodegenerative disorders are manifested. The goal of this work is to find the best MR sequences at 1.5 and 4T to image the midbrain.