Magnetic resonance imaging signal hypointensity and iron content of putamen nuclei in elderly depressed patients

Mineralization of the Deep Gray Matter with Age: A Retrospective Review with Susceptibility-Weighted MR Imaging

“…Some researchers have found hemispheric differences in mineralization with certain diseases. For example, Steffens et al 32 found that older patients who suffered from depression exhibited greater iron concentration in the left putamen. Recently, Bartzokis et al 33 have suggested that normal mineralization for some areas of the brain may vary with sex.…”

Myelination of the brain in Major Depressive Disorder: An in vivo quantitative magnetic resonance imaging study

“…recently found that R1 signal contrast is fully dependent on a linear combination of myelin and iron concentrations in both white and gray matter, with the predominant signal being contributed from myelin (myelin/iron signal contribution: white matter = 90%/10%, gray matter 64%/36%) 31 . Given prior research suggesting that iron content is increased in the brains of individuals with MDD 32 , it is likely that decreases in R1 are attributable to decreases in myelin. In this context, investigators have begun to use R1 as an in vivo assay of myelin content in gray and white matter (for review see ref.…”

Spatially selective T2 and T2∗ measurement with line-scan echo-planar spectroscopic imaging

“…For example, the basic mechanism of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast can be quantitatively studied by measuring the changes of brain tissue T2 and T2 * values in response to a functional challenge [1][2][3][4][5][6]; Clinically, T2, T2 * , and the derived T2 0 measurements are valuable in quantifying the iron deposition due to neurological diseases [7][8][9][10][11].…”