Investigation of the association between cerebral iron content and myelin content in normative aging using quantitative magnetic resonance neuroimaging.

ABSTRACT: Myelin loss and iron accumulation are cardinal features of aging and various neurodegenerative diseases. Oligodendrocytes incorporate iron as a metabolic substrate for myelin synthesis and maintenance. An emerging hypothesis in Alzheimer's disease research suggests that myelin breakdown releases substantial stores of iron that may accumulate, leading to further myelin breakdown and neurodegeneration. We assessed associations between iron content and myelin content in critical brain regions using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on a cohort of cognitively unimpaired adults ranging in age from 21 to 94 years. We measured whole-brain myelin water fraction (MWF), a surrogate of myelin content, using multicomponent relaxometry, and whole-brain iron content using susceptibility weig

SUBMITTER: Khattar N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8370037 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature