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Abstract #0280

Magnetic susceptibilities measured by Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) indicate brain iron levels correlate with genetic burden in prodromal Huntington's disease

Jiri M.G. van Bergen 1,2 , Jun Hua 1,2 , Paul G. Unschuld 3,4 , Issel Anne L. Lim 1,2 , Craig K. Jones 1,2 , Russell L. Margolis 4,5 , Christopher A. Ross 4,5 , Peter C.M. van Zijl 1,2 , and Xu Li 1,2

1 Radiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 2 F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 3 Division of Psychiatry Research and Psychogeriatric Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, 4 Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 5 Neurology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Using Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) on subjects with prodromal Huntingtons disease we found altered magnetic susceptibility in basal ganglia structures of the brain, as compared to controls. Increases were seen in caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus, while decreases were observed in hippocampus and substantia nigra. Susceptibility levels in the caudate and putamen correlated with the an estimate of time to onset of manifest HD. Changes in susceptibility in gray matter have been shown to relate to tissue iron content. Our data thus indicate potential clinical relevance of iron as a biomarker of disease progression.

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