High-resolution iron mapping to study the role of brain iron complexes in the basal forebrain in neuropsychiatric disorders.

神经退行性疾病中脑铁变化的机制在很大程度上是未知的。一种假说认为，红细胞通过受损的血脑屏障渗漏，导致小胶质细胞活化。这导致细胞内的铁血黄素沉积，这是一种含有未结合铁离子的无序铁储存复合物。在这种状态下，铁具有神经毒性，产生自由基并引起氧化应激。Meynert基底核是一个胆碱能基底前脑核，在许多神经精神疾病的早期受到影响。脑铁可以用梯度回声MRI检测，高铁区域在量级图像中表现为低强度。为了进行可靠的定量，需要在高场进行超前的敏感性测绘。解开导致铁介导的神经毒性的机制是多学科研究和临床影像学的前沿。此外，使用MRI进行非侵入性铁定位为疾病预测提供了一种机制生物标志物，可用于未来的临床试验。

The mechanisms of brain iron changes underlying neurodegenerative diseases are largely unknown. One hypothesis suggests that erythrocytes leak through an impaired blood-brain barrier leading to activation of microglia. This results in intracellular deposition of haemosiderin, a disorganised iron storage complex which contains unbound iron ions. In this state, iron is neurotoxic producing free radicals and causing oxidative stress. The nucleus basalis of Meynert is a cholinergic basal forebrain nucleus which is affected early in the course of many neuropsychiatric disorders. Brain iron can be detected using gradient-echo MRI with areas of high iron appearing hypo-intense in magnitude images. Advanced susceptibility mapping at high field is needed for reliable quantification. Disentangling the mechanisms that lead to iron-mediated neurotoxicity is at the frontier of multidisciplinary research and clinical imaging. Moreover, non-invasive iron mapping using MRI provides a mechanistic biomarker for disease prediction that can be exploited in future clinical trials.