Susceptibility Contrast in Deep Brain Gray Matter Areas in Multiple Sclerosis Studied with 7T MRI

Bing Yao¹, Francesca Bagnato², Karin Shmueli¹, Jeff H. Duyn¹

Hypointensity of deep brain gray matter structures in T2-weighted images (T2WI) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has been reported and suggested to represent increased iron deposition. However, these findings are difficult to generalize as the contrast in T2WI depends on several MR parameters including TE, TR, and others. Here, we studied deep gray matter in MS patients quantitatively using magnetic-susceptibility-contrast-derived R2*, phase, and susceptibility maps at 7T. These parameters were correlated with putative iron concentration in the brains of healthy volunteers. Despite a good correlation of susceptibility measures with putative iron content in controls, no major differences were found in patients.