Category: Parkinsonism (Other)
Objective: We try to investigate periventricular susceptibility alterations using QSM to establish a novel, accurate early imaging biomarker for NPH.
Background: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is characterized by ventriculomegaly, which frequently causes blood brain barrier disruption and transependymal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) trapped into periventricular white matters. Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) at ultra-high field 7T MRI can directly quantify local biochemical composition, offering high sensitivity to the dilution of myelin and trace elements without being confounded by directional diffusion errors
Method: 3D multi-echo fast field echo sequence was utilized 3D T1-weighted images were extracted with BET and registered to the MNI152 2mm space using FSL, followed by CSF segmentation via FAST. A subject-specific lateral ventricle mask was subsequently generated using home-made MATLAB scripts by combining the extracted CSF with an MNI152 lateral ventricle template. For QSM reconstruction, the background phase was removed using V-SHARP, and susceptibility maps were calculated using linear QSM via STISuite. Subsequently, the paramagnetic and diamagnetic susceptibility maps were separated using the Chisep algorithm. Finally, the individual susceptibility maps were spatially normalized to the MNI152 space, and the mean susceptibility values were extracted by overlaying the T1-derived lateral ventricle mask.
Results: In the quantitative analysis of the periventricular rim, NPH patients exhibited a distinct reduction in both paramagnetic and diamagnetic susceptibility values compared to the control group. Specifically, the mean paramagnetic susceptibility in the ventricle rim was notably lower in NPH patients (19.34 ± 1.67 ppb) than in healthy controls (25.47 ± 2.89 ppb). Similarly, the mean diamagnetic susceptibility also decreased in the NPH group (22.42 ± 2.74 ppb vs. 26.32 ± 2.08 ppb).
Conclusion: QSM has the potential to quantify biochemical alterations and functional degeneration of ventricle in NPH, thereby highlighting its role as a sensitive imaging biomarker for the diagnosis of NPH and the establishment of patient-specific therapeutic planning.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S. Kim, M. Kweon, H. Chang, J. Heo, S. Oh, S. Tak, E. Oh. Quantitative susceptibility mapping with 7T MRI as a novel imaging biomarker for periventricular degeneration in normal pressure hydrocephalus: A pilot study [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2026; 41 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/quantitative-susceptibility-mapping-with-7t-mri-as-a-novel-imaging-biomarker-for-periventricular-degeneration-in-normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-a-pilot-study/. Accessed October 1, 2026.« Back to 2026 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/quantitative-susceptibility-mapping-with-7t-mri-as-a-novel-imaging-biomarker-for-periventricular-degeneration-in-normal-pressure-hydrocephalus-a-pilot-study/