This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.Although postmortem demonstration of increased iron in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) is a well appreciated finding in Parkinson's disease (PD), the role of iron is unknown. It remains to be determined if iron deposition is affected by heavy metal environmental exposure, varying dietary metal intake, polymorphisms or mutations in metal regulatory proteins, PD causative genes, or as a result of the disease process and not necessarily causative. Nonetheless, a potential role of increased iron in PD pathogenesis is that it may facilitate free radical generation that leads to dopamine neuronal loss. Because conventional T1 and T2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences have not demonstrated in vivo differences of iron between PD and control subjects, we have applied novel MRI sequences called T1rho and T2rho at 4 Tesla and have preliminary data that suggests a greater ability to detect changes in iron as well as ascertain the degree of neuronal loss than is possible with traditional MRI methods. The long term goal of this study is to determine if these techniques can quantify iron deposition and neuronal loss in the SNc in different stages of PD, which will help improve the understanding of the role iron plays in PD.
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