Abnormal Iron Content in Deep Grey Matter Structures of MS Patients as a Function of Age

Charbel Abdo Habib¹, James Garbern, ^1,2, Manju Liu¹, Ewart Mark Haacke¹

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease whose etiology until recently has remained a mystery. A possible explanation for MS has been put forward by Zamboni et al that it is caused by a chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI). In this abstract, we show that the iron deposition seen by susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) in MS patients is abnormal compared to normal controls and appears in areas drained by the medial venous drainage system. This finding is consistent with the CCSVI hypothesis.