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Abstract #0588

Magnetic Susceptibility of the Ageing Brain Is Correlated with Motor Function Decline

Chunlei Liu1, 2, Wei Li1, Christian Langkammer3, Reinhold Schmidt3, Stefan Ropele3

1Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 2Department of Radiology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States; 3Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

In this study of 126 healthy subjects, magnetic susceptibility of the brain nuclei is found to be highly correlated with a number of cognitive test scores. Of the six anatomical regions analyzed, the globus pallidus and the putamen demonstrated the most significant correlation. For instance, increased susceptibility is shown to be associated with deteriorated motor skill which is particularly relevant to Parkinsons disease. The red nucleus shows significant correlation with the language functions. If the results are further validated in diseased populations, magnetic susceptibility could be a potential useful quantitative biomarker for certain neurological diseases and cognitive impairment.

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Keywords

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