Lukas Pirpamer1,
Christian Langkammer1, Stephan Seiler1, Christian
Enzinger1, Franz Fazekas1, Reinhold Schmidt1,
Stefan Ropele1
1Department
of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Styria, Austria
R2* has been recently validated as a measure for brain iron. This study investigated the relationship between serum levels of iron and R2* in white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and deep gray matter structures. R2* mapping was done in 275 normal ageing subjects. R2* in deep gray matter was not related to serum level of iron or WMH severity. However, subjects suffering from hypertension and a high WMH score showed a significant correlation between lesional R2* and iron concentration in the serum thus underlining the role of microangiopathy in the development of WMH.