Evaluation of iron deposition in unilateral middle cerebral artery stenosis patients using automatic brain regional susceptibility analysis

Motivation: Iron deposition is associated with brain injury. Exploring alterations of iron deposition in cerebral regions caused by cerebral artery stenosis may help to predict degree of brain injury. Goal(s): This study aimed to quantify iron alterations in both cortex and deep GM nuclei in patients with long-term unilateral MCA severe stenosis. Approach: Using structural imaging and QSM, we employed automatic brain regional susceptibility analysis. Results: We found that patients had higher susceptibility in ipsilateral CN, PU, GP, and transverse temporal gyrus than contralateral side, and patient group had higher susceptibility in PU, GP, TH, middle frontal gyrus, and transvers temporal gyrus than HCs. Impact: By brain regional susceptibility analysis, this study demonstrated abnormal iron accumulation in deep GM nuclei, middle frontal gyrus, and transvers temporal gyrus after chronic MCA severe stenosis. Therefore, iron deposition may be a potential biomarker for evaluating long-term cerebral ischemia.