ArticleNeuroImage2021
Investigation of the association between cerebral iron content and myelin content in normative aging using quantitative magnetic resonance neuroimaging.
Article in NeuroImage, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Globus Pallidus Iron Relates to Cognitive Impairment in Alzheimer's Disease: Evidence From MRI-Based Meta-Analysis.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Iron quantification in basal ganglia: quantitative susceptibility mapping as a potential biomarker for Alzheimer's disease - a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Pooled it
- Review
- Does quantitative susceptibility mapping elucidate age-related alterations in deep gray matter iron deposition? A systematic review.Radiological physics and technology · 2026Review
- Metallothionein and neurodegenerative diseases.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- Contributions of Gray Matter Microstructure to Differences in Fluid Cognition and Episodic Memory Across the Healthy Adult Lifespan.Human brain mapping · 2026Article
- Evaluation of Brain Microstructural Alterations in Preschool Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Voxel-Wise Multimodal MRI Study.Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI · 2026Article
- Excess iron in deep gray matter is associated with cognitive and functional decline: The mediating role of white matter myelin.NeuroImage · 2026Article
- Effect of iron supplementation on brain myelination and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children aged 0-3 years: a systematic review protocol.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Metabolic Regulatory Networks in Ferroptosis During Alzheimer's Disease, Mechanisms of Glial Cell Action, and Pathological Correlations with Neuritic Plaques.International journal of general medicine · 2026Review
- Multivariate age-related variations in quantitative MRI maps: widespread age-related differences revisited.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Associations Between Hippocampal Transverse Relaxation Time and Amyloid PET in Cognitively Normal Aging Adults.Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI · 2026Article
- Brain iron distribution in transdiagnostic mental health burden.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- Role of iron in brain development, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- 7T multimodal MRI reveals structural-functional-quantitative susceptibility mapping abnormalities of new daily persistent headache.The journal of headache and pain · 2025Article
- Oxidative Stress-Mediated Neuroinflammation in the Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Myelin water and tensor-valued diffusion imaging: (How) are they related?Magnetic resonance in medicine · 2025Article
- Motor-cognitive aging: The role of motor cortex and its pathways.NeuroImage · 2025Article
- Imaging of Cerebral Iron as an Emerging Marker for Brain Aging, Neurodegeneration, and Cerebrovascular Diseases.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Exploring Iron Deposition Patterns Using Light and Electron Microscopy in the Mouse Brain Across Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology Conditions.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
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 weighted imaging in all individuals. MWF was negatively associated with iron content in most brain regions evaluated indicating that lower myelin content corresponds to higher iron content. Moreover, iron content was significantly higher with advanced age in most structures, with men exhibiting a trend towards higher iron content as compared to women. Finally, relationship between MWF and age, in all brain regions investigated, suggests that brain myelination continues until middle age, followed by degeneration at older ages. This work establishes a foundation for further investigations of the etiology and sequelae of myelin breakdown and iron accumulation in neurodegeneration and may lead to new imaging markers for disease progression and treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.