Neural Substrates of Cognitive Changes in Healthy Ageing Using MRI Magnetic Susceptibility Mapping of Tissue Iron at High Field Strengths

Dr Karin Shmueli (primary)
Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering
UCL
Dr Rimona Weil (secondary)
Dementia Research Centre
UCL

Abstract

Healthy older adults show variation in cognitive performance not directly related to neuropathological measures. Iron-mediated oxidative stress may cause the neuronal vulnerability underpinning healthy ageing. MRI Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping [QSM] measures tissue composition and is dominated by iron content in the brain. This project will use QSM to measure brain iron changes in healthy adults and investigate the relationship between these and cognitive performance at two different field strengths. Scanning at 7 Tesla may reveal layer-specific information not available using conventional 3-Tesla acquisitions. This will provide important insights into the neural substrates of early cognitive changes in healthy ageing.


References

1 K. Shmueli, J.A. de Zwart, P. van Gelderen, T.Q. Li, S.J. Dodd, and J.H. Duyn, Magnetic susceptibility mapping of brain tissue in vivo using MRI phase data. Magn Reson Med, 2009. 62[6]: 1510-22.
2 Biondetti, E., Karsa, A., Thomas, D.L., Shmueli, K. Investigating the accuracy and precision of TE-dependent versus multi-echo QSM using Laplacian-based methods at 3 T. Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 2020, doi:10.1002/mrm.28331
3 Thomas EC, Leyland LAL, Schrag AE, Lees AJ, Acosta Cabronero J & Weil RS. Brain iron deposition is linked with cognitive severity in Parkinson’s disease. JNNP 2020. 91[4]:418-425

4 Thomas EC, Zarkali A, Ryten M, Shmueli K, Gil Martinez AL, McColgan P, Leyland LA, Acosta-Cabronero J, Lees AJ & Weil RS. Regional brain iron and gene expression provide insights into neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease. Brain 2020 in press.

5 Murdoch, R., Kawadler, J., Carmichael, D., Kirkham, F., & Shmueli, K. [2020]. Can multi-parametric mapping sequences be used for accurate quantitative susceptibility mapping? In Proceedings of the 2020 ISMRM & SMRT VIRTUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION. International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine [ISMRM].


BBSRC Area
Genes, development and STEM* approaches to biology
Area of Biology
AgeingNeurobiology
Techniques & Approaches
Image Processing