Iron deposition of basal ganglia on 7 Tesla MRI for diagnosis of early-stage Parkinson’s disease

Motivation: Early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) remains challenging. Goal(s): Aimed to identify new imaging features in the basal ganglia of PD by 7T iron-sensitive MRI, and to investigate the diagnostic performance of the new imaging features in distinguishing early-stage PD patients from healthy subjects. Approach: 129 participants were prospectively recruited between May 2021 and September 2023. All participants were scanned at Tiantan Neuroimaging Center using 7-Tesla MRI. Two neuroradiologist separately evaluated the visual rating scale of iron deposition signs in basal ganglia. Results: The newly developed basal ganglia sign scoring scale showed high sensitivity and excellent specificity for diagnosis of early-stage PD. Impact: The distribution characteristics of iron deposition in basal ganglia might be a promising marker of the diagnosis of early-stage PD.