Cardiac Iron and Cardiac Disease in Males and Females with Transfusion-dependent Thalassemia Major: a T2* Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Overview

Journal Haematologica

Specialty Hematology

Date 2011 Jan 14

PMID 21228034

Citations 53

Authors

Maria Marsella

Caterina Borgna-Pignatti

Antonella Meloni

Valeria Caldarelli

Maria Chiara Dellamico

Anna Spasiano

Lorella Pitrolo

Eliana Cracolici

Gianluca Valeri

Vincenzo Positano

Massimo Lombardi

Alessia Pepe

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: It has been repeatedly reported that female patients with thalassemia major survive longer than males and that the difference is due to a lower rate of cardiac disease in females.

Design And Methods: We compared the cardiac iron load as measured by T2* magnetic resonance imaging in 776 patients (370 males) examined at the National Research Council as part of an Italian cooperative study. We also established normal left ventricular ejection fraction values for our population.

Results: The prevalence of cardiac disease was higher in males than in females (105 males versus 69 females; P < 0.0001). Cardiac T2* was significantly lower in patients with heart dysfunction (P < 0.0001), but no difference was observed according to sex. Twenty males and five females had a history of cardiac arrhythmias. Their cardiac T2* was not significantly lower than that of patients without arrhythmias (24 ms versus 26 ms; P = 0.381), nor was there a difference between sexes. Liver T2* was significantly lower in males and females with heart dysfunction compared to those without. Ferritin levels were higher in patients of both sexes with heart dysfunction without significant differences between males and females. Conclusions Males and females are at the same risk of accumulating iron in their hearts, but females tolerate iron toxicity better, possibly as an effect of reduced sensitivity to chronic oxidative stress.

Citing Articles

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Magnetic Resonance Evaluation of Tissue Iron Deposition and Cardiac Function in Adult Regularly Transfused Thalassemia Intermedia Compared with Thalassemia Major Patients.

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Pistoia L, Meloni A, Positano V, Longo F, Borsellino Z, Spasiano A Diagnostics (Basel). 2024; 14(7).

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