Susceptibility MRI captures nigral pathology in patients with parkinsonian syndromes

Background Parkinsonisms are neurodegenerative disorders characterized pathologically by α-synuclein- (e.g., Parkinson’s, diffuse Lewy body disease, and multiple system atrophy) and/or tau- (e.g., progressive supranuclear palsy, cortical basal degeneration) positive pathology. Using R2* and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), susceptibility changes have been reported in the midbrain of living parkinsonian patients, although the exact underlying pathology of these alterations is unknown. The current study investigated the pathological correlates of these susceptibility MRI measures.