Association of Iron and Myelin Alterations in the Contralesional Dentate Nucleus and Thalamus With Functional Outcome in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Susceptibility Source Separation Study

作者：Haorui Wan, Yan Fu, Shun Zhang, Guiling Zhang, Yuanhao Li, Wenzhen Zhu, Yi Wang · 发表于：Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1002/jmri.70431 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications、Acute Ischemic Stroke Management、Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies

ABSTRACT Background Susceptibility alterations in deep gray matter (DGM) nuclei after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) may relate to impaired functional independence. However, conventional quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) cannot separate paramagnetic iron‐related from diamagnetic myelin‐related sources, potentially obscuring relevant pathophysiological alterations. Purpose To apply χ ‐separation to disentangle paramagnetic susceptibility ( χ para ) and diamagnetic susceptibility ( χ dia ) in DGM nuclei after AIS and assess associations with 3‐month functional independence. Study Type Prospective. Population 82 AIS patients (52 M/30 F) and 82 healthy controls (49 M/33 F). Field Strength/Sequence 3 T; 3D multi‐echo gradient‐echo sequence for QSM and χ ‐separation reconstruction. Assessment χ para and χ dia were measured in the caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, red nucleus, thalamus, and dentate nucleus. Contralesional nuclei were analyzed in patients. Group differences and 3‐month outcome associations were assessed. Functional independence was defined as modified Rankin Scale score 0–2, and poor outcome as 3–6. Statistical Tests Linear mixed‐effects models, analysis of covariance, logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic analysis; p < 0.05 was significant. Results Compared with healthy controls, patients showed higher χ para in all seven nuclei, including the dentate nucleus (84.065 ± 15.086 vs. 76.172 ± 11.387 ppb) and thalamus (30.633 [...