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Evaluation of deep gray matter for early brain development using quantitative susceptibility mapping

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A Commentary to this article was published on 28 March 2023

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate susceptibility values associated with iron accumulation in the deep gray matter during postnatal development and to compare magnetic susceptibility between patients with normal and delayed development.

Methods

Patients with postmenstrual age (PMA) ≤ 1000 days underwent MR scans between August 2015 and April 2020 at our hospital. Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) was performed, and magnetic susceptibility was measured using three-dimensional volumes of interest (VOIs) for the caudate nucleus (CN), globus pallidus (GP), putamen (PT), and ventrolateral thalamic nucleus (VL). Cross-sectional analysis was performed for 99 patients with normal development and 39 patients with delayed development. Longitudinal analysis was also performed to interpret changes over time in 13 patients with normal development. Correlations between magnetic susceptibility in VOIs and PMA or chronological age (CA) were assessed.

Results

Susceptibility values for CN, GP, PT, and VL showed positive moderate correlations with both PMA (ρ = 0.45, 0.69, 0.62, and 0.33, respectively) and CA (ρ = 0.53, 0.69, 0.66, and 0.39, respectively). The slope of the correlation between susceptibility values and age was highest in the GP among the four gray matter areas. Susceptibility values for the CN, GP, PT, and VL were higher with normal development than with delayed development at early postnatal age, although a significant difference was only observed for the CN. Susceptibility values also increased with age in the longitudinal analysis.

Conclusions

Magnetic susceptibility values in deep gray matter increased with age ≤ 1000 days. The normal development group showed higher susceptibility values than the delayed development group at early postnatal age (PMA ≤ 285 days).

Key Points

• Magnetic susceptibilities in deep gray matter nuclei increased with age (postmenstrual age ≤ 1000 days) in a large number of pediatric patients.

• The normal development group showed higher susceptibility values than the delayed development group in the basal ganglia and ventrolateral thalamic nucleus at early postnatal age (PMA ≤ 285 days).

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Abbreviations

CA:

Chronological age

CHARGE syndrome:

Coloboma, Heart defects, Atresia choanae, growth Retardation, Genital abnormalities, and Ear abnormalities

CN:

Caudate nucleus

DARTEL:

Diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration Through Exponentiated Lie Algebra

GA:

Gestational age

GP:

Globus pallidus

KARS:

Lysyl-tRNA synthetase

MNI:

Montreal Neurological Institute

PCYT1A:

Phosphate cytidylyltransferase 1A, choline

PMA:

Postmenstrual age

PT:

Putamen

QSM:

Quantitative susceptibility mapping

VACTERL:

Vertebral anomalies, Anorectal malformations, Cardiovascular anomalies, Tracheo-esophageal fistula and Esophageal atresia, Renal anomalies, and Limb defects

VL:

Ventrolateral thalamic nucleus

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Mr. Yuta Urushibata, MSci, Siemens Healthcare K. K., for protocol optimization.

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 22K07746, 19K17266, 21K15826, 21K15623, 21K20834, and the Kyoto University Research Fund for Young Scientists (Start-Up) FY2021.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Sayo Otani, Yasutaka Fushimi, Satoshi Nakajima, Akihiko Sakata, Sachi Okuchi, Takuya Hinoda, Krishna Pandu Wicaksono & Yuji Nakamoto

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Kogoro Iwanaga, Seiichi Tomotaki, Taiki Shimotsuma, Junko Takita & Masahiko Kawai

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  1. Sayo Otani
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasutaka Fushimi.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Yuji Nakamoto.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by Kyoto University Graduate School and the Faculty of Medicine, Ethics Committee (R3036).

Methodology

• retrospective

• cross-sectional study

• performed at one institution

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Otani, S., Fushimi, Y., Iwanaga, K. et al. Evaluation of deep gray matter for early brain development using quantitative susceptibility mapping. Eur Radiol 33, 4488–4499 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-022-09267-4

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