Identification of mineral deposits in the brain on radiological images: a systematic review

Abstract

There is inconsistency in reporting the appearance of minerals on radiological images. • Only 46 studies confirmed mineral appearance using a non-imaging method. • Iron is the mineral more widely studied, consistently hypointense on T2*-weighted MRI. • T1-weighted MRI consistently reported copper, calcium and manganese hyperintense. • Calcium is consistently reported hypointense on T2-weighted MRI and hyperattenuating on CT.

Brain gadolinium deposition after administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents

“…High concentration areas of gadolinium were the dentate nucleus, inner segment of the globus pallidus, and pulvinar of the thalamus [48,49], with iron or calcium also showing relatively higher concentrations in these regions [55,56]. Gadolinium is probably not transported passively, but rather by some biological mechanism(s) such as metal transporter(s) [57,58].…”

Contribution of metals to brain MR signal intensity: review articles

“…Many studies of metal deposition have based diagnoses on clinical or image analysis, while only a small number of studies have relied on histological analysis. However, except for brain tissue analysis, the cause of the abnormal signal intensity on MRI cannot be determined accurately [5]. Second, excess concentrations of multiple metals are often observed in the same subject.…”

“…Calcium deposition in the brain occurs with Fahr disease, various metabolic diseases, and tumors [5]. Calcification is easily detected on CT, but it is difficult to detect on MRI because of the variety of signal intensities produced by calcified regions [16].…”

Brain iron deposits and lifespan cognitive ability

“…As people grow older, iron accumulates, mainly in the form of hemosiderin, in several brain regions and cell types (Valdés Hernández et al 2012; Ward et al 2014). The causes of these iron deposits, and their consequences for human cognitive ageing, remain unclear.…”