QSM Based Decreased Iron Deposition Correlates with Reduced Neurodevelopmental Status in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

To investigate potential correlations between the susceptibility values of certain brain regions and the severity of disease or neurodevelopmental status in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 18 ASD children and 15 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. 11 brain regions as regions of interest. Pearson and Spearman partial correlation analysis was used to depict the correlations between the susceptibility values, the ABC scores, and the GDS scores in ASD group. We found that the susceptibility value of the right globus pallidus was positively correlated with the GDS-fine motor scale score.