Brain Glucose Hypometabolism and Iron Accumulation in Different Brain Regions in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the presence of glucose hypometabolism (GHM) and brain iron accumulation (BIA), two potential pathological mechanisms in neurodegenerative disease, in different regions of the brain in people with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Studies that conducted fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to map GHM or quantitative susceptibility mapping—magnetic resonance imaging (QSM–MRI) to map BIA in the brains of patients with AD or PD were reviewed. Regions of the brain where GHM or BIA were reported in each disease were compared. In AD, both GHM and BIA were reported in the hippocampus, temporal, and parietal lobes. GHM alone was reported in the cingulate gyrus, precuneus and occipital lobe. BIA alone was reported in the caudate nucleus, putamen and globus pallidus. In PD, both GHM and BIA were reported in thalamus, globus pallidus, putamen, hippocampus, and temporal and frontal lobes. GHM alone was reported in cingulate gyrus, caudate nucleus, cerebellum, and parietal and occipital lobes. BIA alone was reported in the substantia nigra and red nucleus. GHM and BIA are observed independent of one another in various brain regions in both AD and PD. This suggests that GHM is not always necessary or sufficient to cause BIA and vice versa. Hypothesis-driven FDG-PET and QSM–MRI imaging studies, where both are conducted on individuals with AD or PD, are needed to confirm or disprove the observations presented here about the potential relationship or lack thereof between GHM and BIA in AD and PD.