de Hollander Gilles, Keuken Max C, Bazin Pierre-Louis, Weiss Marcel, Neumann Jane, Reimann Katja, Wähnert Miriam, Turner Robert, Forstmann Birte U, Schäfer Andreas
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Brain Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2014 Sep;35(9):4440-9. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22485. Epub 2014 Mar 4.
The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an important node of the cortico-basal ganglia network and the main target of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease. Histological studies have revealed an inhomogeneous iron distribution within the STN, which has been related to putative subdivisions within this nucleus. Here, we investigate the iron distribution in more detail using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast mechanism. QSM allows for detailed assessment of iron content in both in vivo and postmortem tissue. Twelve human participants and 7 postmortem brain samples containing the STN were scanned using ultra-high field 7 Tesla (T) MRI. Iron concentrations were found to be higher in the medial-inferior tip of the STN. Using quantitative methods we show that the increase of iron concentration towards the medial-inferior tip is of a gradual rather than a discrete nature.
丘脑底核（STN）是皮质-基底神经节网络的重要节点，也是帕金森病深部脑刺激（DBS）的主要靶点。组织学研究显示，STN内铁分布不均，这与该核团内假定的亚区有关。在此，我们使用定量磁化率成像（QSM）这一新型磁共振成像（MRI）对比机制，更详细地研究铁分布情况。QSM能够对活体和死后组织中的铁含量进行详细评估。我们使用超高场7特斯拉（T）MRI对12名人类受试者和7个含有STN的死后脑样本进行了扫描。结果发现，STN内下内侧尖端的铁浓度较高。我们通过定量方法表明，铁浓度朝着内下内侧尖端的增加是渐进性的，而非离散性的。
