Abstract #1201

Reduction of R2* in the Basal Ganglia of Restless Legs Syndrome: A Biomarker for Iron Deficiency

Byeong-Yeul Lee¹, Elana Farace², Xiaoyu Sun³, James R. Connor², Qing X. Yang^1,3

¹Bioengineering, The Penn State University, Hershey, PA, USA; ²Neurosurgery, The Penn State University, Hershey, PA, USA; ³Radiology, The Penn State University, Hershey, PA, USA

Iron deficiency has been shown to be one of the contributing factors for Restless legs syndrome (RLS). Since tissue R2*(=1/T2*) is known to be more specifically associated with tissue iron content, we applied a voxel-based R2* mapping to detect iron deficiency in the basal ganglia (BG) in RLS. Our results showed that a significant decrease in R2* in the BG of RLS compared to control groups, supporting the hypothesis that iron deficiency in the subcortical structures (BG, RN) of RLS leads to the dysfunction in sensory-motor pathway. R2* mapping is proven to be a sensitive tool for clinical evaluation of RLS.