Recent advance in quantitative analysis of iron deposition in Parkinson's disease with MR imaging

The abnormal increase of iron content in the substantia nigra pars compacta of Parkinson's disease (PD) is closely related to dopaminergic neuron injury, which affects the occurrence and development of PD. MRI techniques, including iron concentration-sensitive R2*, Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM), have already applied in the quantification of iron load in brains. MRI techniques have wide application prospects in the early diagnosis, differential diagnosis, monitoring the disease progress and guiding treatment of PD. This article runs retrospective analysis on MRI quantitative research status of iron deposition in brains of patients with PD. Key words: Parkinson's disease; Iron deposition; Susceptibility weighted imaging; Quantitative susceptibility mapping