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. 2022 Jan-Dec:18:17448069221074987.
doi: 10.1177/17448069221074987.

The increased iron deposition of the gray matter over the whole brain in chronic migraine: An exploratory quantitative susceptibility mapping study

Zhiye Chen  1   2 , He Zhao  3   4 , Xiaoyan Chen  3 , Mengqi Liu  1   5 , Xin Li  2 , Lin Ma  5 , Shengyuan Yu  3
Affiliations

The increased iron deposition of the gray matter over the whole brain in chronic migraine: An exploratory quantitative susceptibility mapping study

Zhiye Chen et al. Mol Pain. 2022 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Prior studies identified iron deposition in deep brain nuclei and the periaqueductal gray matter region in chronic migraine, and less is known about the cerebral iron deposition over the whole cerebral gray matter in CM. The aim of this case-control study is to investigate the cerebral iron deposition of gray matter in CM using an advanced quantitative susceptibility mapping.

Methods: A multi-echo gradient echo MR sequence was used to obtain raw quantitative susceptibility mapping data from 12 CM patients and 18 normal controls and the quantitative susceptibility mapping were reconstructed. Three dimensional T1 images were segmented and the gray matter mask was generated to extract the susceptibility value of gray matter over the whole brain. The independent t test and receiver operating characteristic curve Receiver operating characteristics was used to investigate the iron deposition changes in CM patients.

Results: CM presented a higher susceptibility value (1.44 × 10-3 ppm) compared with NC group (0.47 × 10-3 ppm) (p < 0.0001) over the whole cerebral gray matter. There was no correlation between susceptibility value and the clinical variables including disease duration, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores (p > 0.05). ROC analysis demonstrated the susceptibility had a high diagnostic efficacy (AUC 0.949, sensitivity 77.78% and specificity 100%) in distinguishing CM from NC.

Conclusion: CM patients had increased iron deposition in total cerebral gray matter which could be considered as a potential diagnostic and evaluated imaging biomarker in CM.

Keywords: Chronic migraine; brain; iron deposition; magnetic resonance imaging; quantitative susceptibility mapping.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) value of gray matter over the whole brain was extracted according to the above flowchart. (A), raw QSM image; (B), normalized QSM; (C), Gray matter mask; (D), the gray matter mask and normalized QSM.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The extraction of the susceptibility value of the cerebral regions labeled by the automated anatomical labeling (AAL) template (No.1–90).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The pooled histogram of susceptibility value of chronic migraine (CM) patients (1.44 × 10−3 ppm) and normal controls (NC) (0.47×10−3 ppm).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
ROC curve of chronic migraine (CM) versus normal controls (NC) with the area under the curve 0.949.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
The comparison of the magnetic susceptibility value of the regional brain region between chronic migraine (CM) and normal controls (NC). Automated anatomical labeling (AAL)_01, left precentral gyrus; AAL_03, left superior frontal gyrus; AAL_07, left middle frontal gyrus; AAL_08, right middle frontal gyri; AAL_11, left opercular part of inferior frontal gyri; AAL_12, right opercular part of inferior frontal gyri; AAL_13, left triangular part of inferior frontal gyri; AAL_14, right triangular part of inferior frontal gyri; AAL_18, right Rolandic operculum; AAL_20, right supplementary motor area; AAL_46, right cuneus; AAL_51, left middle occipital gyrus; AAL_57, left postcentral gyrus; AAL_58, right postcentral gyrus; AAL_61, left inferior parietal gyrus; AAL_62, right inferior parietal gyrus; AAL_63, left supramarginal gyrus; AAL_64, right supramarginal gyri; AAL_65, left angular gyrus; AAL_66, right angular gyrus; AAL_67, left precuneus; AAL_68, right precuneus; AAL_89, left inferior temporal gyrus.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
The brain regions with the altered iron deposition.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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