Quantitative susceptibility mapping in a diabetes mellitus rat model: Iron accumulation in the brain

Abstract

AbstractThis study evaluated the susceptibility effects using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) as a marker for regional brain iron alternations in diabetic rat brains. Otsuka Long‐Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats (n = 7) and age‐matched lean Long‐Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) control rats (n = 8) were scanned using a three‐dimensional gradient‐echo sequence in a 3 Tesla MRI to map QSM. The correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the QSM value and the body weight and the fasting blood glucose value of the rats. QSM values in the OLETF group were significantly increased in hippocampi and thalami, as compared with those of the LETO group. The QSM values of the OLETF rats were negatively correlated with the body weight in putamen and were significantly correlated with the fasting blood glucose level in the left amygdala and right thalamus. With higher QSM values in diabetic rats than in control rats, QSM values in the diabetic group were significantly correlated with the body weight and the fasting blood glucose level, indicating that the QSM technique should be helpful to noninvasively investigate iron overload in the diabetic brain.