Study of movement disorders and brain iron by MR.

Heavily T2-weighted high-field MR images provide a unique opportunity for the evaluation of the extrapyramidal motor system. The images are affected by the presence of small amounts of naturally occurring paramagnetic substances--principally iron--that delineate the neostriatum (caudate and putamen), globus pallidus, red nucleus, substantia nigra, and dentate nucleus, primarily by a decrease in signal secondary to the T2* effect. Movement disorders are associated with either increased or decreased signal or both in these structures, depending on the pathologic process. In the initial evaluation of 113 patients with a variety of movement disorders, good correlation of imaging abnormalities can be made with a simplified schema of the extrapyramidal pathways and a system of classification of abnormal movements, parkinsonism/tremor, dystonia, chorea, myoclonus, and hemiballismus. Parkinsonisms are characterized by abnormalities of the cortico-ponto-cerebello-dentato-rubro-thalamo-cortico-spinal tract or the nigrostriatal tract. Dystonias are characterized by abnormalities of the neostriatum predominantly affecting the putamen. Choreas are also characterized by abnormalities of the neostriatum but predominantly affecting the caudate nucleus. Hemiballismus is characterized by lesions affecting the subthalamic nucleus or associated pathway.