Hippocampal Microbleed on a Post-Mortem T2*-Weighted Gradient-Echo 7.0-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

The present post-mortem study of a brain from an Alzheimer patient showed on a T2*-weighted gradient-echo 7.0-T MRI of a coronal brain section a hyposignal in the hippocampus, suggesting a microbleed. On the corresponding histological examination, only iron deposits around the granular cellular layer and in blood vessel walls of the hippocampus were observed without evidence of a bleeding. This case report illustrates that the detection of microbleeds on MRI has to be interpreted with caution.

Keywords

• Microbleed
• Hippocampus
• Alzheimer dementia
• T2*-weighted 7.0-T MRI sequence
• Neuropathology
• Iron deposits