The basal ganglia in haemochromatosis

Haemochromatosis is characterised by deposition of iron-containing pigment in various organs, but little is known about possible deposition in the bra in and its clinical impact. We therefore investigated 14 patients with here ditary haemochromatosis with MRI, CT and transcranial ultrasound (TCS) and examined them neurologically. In six of the patients dense lesions were fou nd within the lentiform nucleus on CT, all of whom displayed hyperechogenic lesions in the same area on TCS, as did one other patient. In these patien ts the relative signal intensities of the lentiform nucleus measured by MRI relaxometry were higher. No patient had clinical signs of basal ganglia di sorders.