Quantitative susceptibility mapping shows alterations of brain iron content in children with autism spectrum disorder: a whole-brain analysis.

Researchers used special brain scans to measure iron levels throughout the brain in 30 children with autism compared to 28 typically developing children. They found children with autism had different iron levels in several brain areas - higher in some regions and lower in others. In certain areas, higher iron levels were linked to poorer motor skills development. This is the first study to look at iron levels across the whole brain in autism.

This brain imaging study used quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) to measure iron content across the whole brain in 30 children with autism spectrum disorder compared to 28 typically developing children. Results showed children with ASD had higher iron content in several brain regions including temporal and parietal areas, anterior cingulate, insula, and occipital regions, but lower iron content in right cerebral white matter. Higher iron levels in specific regions (left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus, and right lateral occipital gyrus) were associated with poorer gross motor development scores. This represents the first whole-brain iron content analysis in autism, providing new insights into potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying ASD symptoms.

These findings suggest brain iron metabolism differences may contribute to autism pathophysiology. However, clinical applications remain unclear as this is preliminary research requiring replication in larger samples and investigation of whether iron status could inform treatment approaches.

Small sample size (30 ASD, 28 controls), cross-sectional design prevents causal inferences, unclear if findings generalize beyond the age group studied, and correlation analysis only examined gross motor scores rather than comprehensive autism symptom measures.

Iron deficiency in subcortical structures has been reported in previous studies using manually drawn regions of interest (ROIs). However, no whole-brain iron content studies in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been published. This study aimed to explore whole-brain iron content in ASD children using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and to examine relationships between clinical features of ASD and regional susceptibility values. A total of 30 ASD children and 28 typically developing (TD) individuals who were matched for age and sex were prospectively recruited.

Brain MRI scans were performed on each participant. Each brain region's susceptibility value was compared between groups, and correlations with clinical manifestations were examined. The ASD patients showed significantly higher susceptibility values than TD children in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, left inferior temporal gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus, right lateral occipital gyrus, right insula, and bilateral rostral anterior cingulate gyrus. Conversely, significantly lower susceptibility was observed in the right cerebral white matter of ASD children.

According to correlation analysis, susceptibility values in the left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus, and right lateral occipital gyrus were negatively correlated with the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS) gross motor scores in the ASD group. ASD children had aberrant susceptibility values in cortical areas, and these abnormalities might be associated with their clinical features, which may provide new insights into understanding the pathophysiology of ASD.