QSM in rats with minimal hepatic encephalopathy: does iron overload aggravate cognitive impairment by promoting neuroinflammation?

In this study, we used the QSM technique to quantitatively evaluate the levels of brain iron in the hippocampus of MHE rats and by evaluating the neuroinflammatory response to explore the relationship between iron with neuroinflammation and cognition. It is expected to provide important insights into the occurrence of MHE disease symptoms and the related biological mechanisms behind them. Meanwhile, our findings also suggested that an abnormal susceptibility values in certain brain areas identified using the QSM may be a potential biomarker to reflect the severity of cognitive impairment and to monitor its progression in cirrhotic patients with MHE.