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• Clinical Article •
A quantitative magnetization rate imaging-based study of differences in brain iron content and its association with symptoms in younger autistic children
LU Yu  CHENG Meiying  LI Sike  LIU Shipeng  FENG Liujuan  ZHANG Xiaoxue  WANG Changhao  FENG Zhanqi  ZHAO Xin 

Cite this article as: LU Y, CHENG M Y, LI S K, et al. A quantitative magnetization rate imaging-based study of differences in brain iron content and its association with symptoms in younger autistic children[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(3): 10-17. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.03.002.


[Abstract] Objective To use quantitative susceptibility imaging (QSM) technology to study the brain iron difference between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), so as to provide new imaging markers for the pathophysiology and early diagnosis of ASD.Materials and Methods Thirty children with ASD were included as the experimental group and 30 normal children as the control group. After collecting clinical data and scales, all the children were scanned and processed with QSM sequence to obtain quantitative maps, and the area of interest was outlined manually to obtain the magnetization rate values. The differences in magnetization rate values between the two groups were compared, and their correlation with the Gesell Developmental Scale scores was analyzed. The diagnostic efficacy was assessed by plotting the Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the ASD group was divided into mild-moderate and severe groups according to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and the magnetization rates between mild-moderate and severe groups and the control group were further compared. The differences in magnetization rate values between the mild-moderate, severe, and normal control groups were further compared.Results Compared with healthy children, the magnetic susceptibility values in the frontal white matter, left temporal white matter, red nucleus, substantia nigra, and dentate nucleus of children with ASD were significantly lower (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between the magnetic susceptibility value of the left frontal white matter and language scores, as well as between the magnetic susceptibility value of the right red nucleus and fine motor scores in children with ASD (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC value of the right dentate nucleus was the highest at 0.752 (95% confidence interval: 0.627 to 0.878), with a sensitivity of 76.7%, a specificity of 73.3%. The intergroup comparison based on ASD severity indicated significant differences in the magnetic susceptibility values of the right frontal white matter, left temporal white matter, right dentate nucleus, and left red nucleus between the normal control group and the mild-moderate group. The magnetic susceptibility value of the right dentate nucleus showed significant differences between the normal control group and the severe group.Conclusions The brain iron content in multiple regions of children with ASD is lower than that of typically developing children and is correlated with their clinical symptoms and severity, which has clinical significance.
[Keywords] autism spectrum disorder；preschool children；quantitative susceptibility mapping；magnetic resonance imaging；Gesell Developmental Scale；Childhood Autism Rating Scale

LU Yu1, 2, 3   CHENG Meiying1, 2, 3   LI Sike1, 2, 3   LIU Shipeng1, 2, 3   FENG Liujuan1, 2, 3   ZHANG Xiaoxue1, 2, 3   WANG Changhao1, 2, 3   FENG Zhanqi1, 2, 3   ZHAO Xin1, 2, 3*  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China

2 Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neuromedical Imaging, Zhengzhou 450052, China

3 Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Neuroimaging Medicine, Zhengzhou 450052, China

Corresponding author: ZHAO X, E-mail: zdsfyzx@zzu.edu.cn

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2024-11-14
Accepted  2025-02-14
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.03.002
Cite this article as: LU Y, CHENG M Y, LI S K, et al. A quantitative magnetization rate imaging-based study of differences in brain iron content and its association with symptoms in younger autistic children[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2025, 16(3): 10-17. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.03.002.

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