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Separate MRI quantification of dispersed (ferritin‐like) and aggregated (hemosiderin‐like) storage iron
Author(s) -
Jensen Jens H.,
Tang Haiying,
Tosti Christina L.,
Swaminathan Srirama V.,
Nunez Alvaro,
Hultman Kristi,
Szulc Kamila U.,
Wu Ed X.,
Kim Daniel,
Sheth Sujit,
Brown Truman R.,
Brittenham Gary M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.22273
Subject(s) - hemosiderin , ferritin , iron oxide , chemistry , agarose , in vivo , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance , biomedical engineering , chromatography , biochemistry , pathology , medicine , radiology , biology , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry
A new MRI method is proposed for separately quantifying the two principal forms of tissue storage (nonheme) iron: ferritin iron , a dispersed, soluble fraction that can be rapidly mobilized, and hemosiderin iron , an aggregated, insoluble fraction that serves as a long‐term reserve. The method utilizes multiple spin echo sequences, exploiting the fact that aggregated iron can induce nonmonoexponential signal decay for multiple spin echo sequences. The method is validated in vitro for agarose phantoms, simulating dispersed iron with manganese chloride, and aggregated iron with iron oxide microspheres. To demonstrate feasibility for human studies, preliminary in vivo data from two healthy controls and six patients with transfusional iron overload are presented. For both phantoms and human subjects, conventional R 2 and R 2 * relaxation rates are also measured in order to contrast the proposed method with established MRI iron quantification techniques. Quantification of dispersed (ferritin‐like) iron may provide a new means of monitoring the risk of iron‐induced toxicity in patients with iron overload and, together with quantification of aggregated (hemosiderin‐like) iron, improve the accuracy of estimates for total storage iron. Magn Reson Med 63:1201–1209, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.