['To determine whether blood manganese (Mn) concentration is elevated in patients with iron deficiency anemia (IDA), and whether this affects signal intensities in the globus pallidus.', 'Twenty-seven patients with IDA and 10 control subjects were tested for blood Mn, and brain magnetic resonance images (MRI) were also examined. Seventeen of the 27 patients were followed-up after iron therapy.', 'IDA patients had a mean blood Mn concentration of 2.05 +/- 0.44 microg/dl, which was higher than controls. The mean pallidal index (PI) of anemic patients was not different from that of controls. There was a correlation between log blood Mn and PI (rho = 0.384, P = 0.048; n = 27) in IDA patients. None of the patients showed increased signals in the globus pallidus in T1-weighted MRI. Blood Mn levels decreased and hemoglobin levels increased after iron therapy (P < 0.05).'] Is blood manganese concentration elevated in iron deficiency anemia patients , whereas globus pallidus signal intensity is minimally affected?