T2-star [T2*] magnetic resonance imaging for assessment of kidney iron overload in thalassemic patients
Archives of Iranian Medicine. 2012; 15 (2): 91-94
in English
| IMEMR
| ID: emr-116682
ABSTRACT
Improved survival in thalassemic patients has lead to the manifestation of morbidities such as renal dysfunction. This involvement suggests the need for a reliable and non-invasive method to assess the degree of kidney iron overload. We conducted the present study to evaluate the relationship between serum ferritin levels, liver, heart, and kidney MRI gradient echo [T2*] relaxation times in thalassemic patients, as a step to evaluate the feasibility of using MRI T2* to assess the degree of kidney iron overload. This was a prospective study of 120 [60 males, 60 females] regularly transfused thalassemic patients [mean age 25.9 +/- 9 years] who suffered from major and intermediate thalassemia. Patients attended an adult thalassemia clinic located in Tehran, Iran. Cardiac, hepatic and renal MRI T2* were performed. Serum ferritin levels were measured. Our results indicated a moderate correlation between kidney MRI T2* relaxation time and serum ferritin [r = -0.446, P < 0.001]. Kidney MRI T2* relaxation time weakly correlated with liver MRI T2* relaxation time [r = 0.388, P < 0.001] and cardiac MRI T2* relaxation time [r = 0.338, P = 0.023]. The moderate correlation between kidney MRI T2* relaxation time and serum ferritin, and its weak correlation with liver and heart T2* relaxation times indicate that relying on liver and heart MRI T2*, as well as serum ferritin levels to predict the exact condition of kidney iron overload might not be a reliable approach. Our findings suggest the use of kidney MRI T2* as a noninvasive method for evaluating renal iron overload in thalassemic patients. Further studies to investigate the relation between kidney MRI T2* relaxation times and renal function, as well as the cost benefit of using this method, are suggested
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Index:
IMEMR (Eastern Mediterranean)
Language:
English
Journal:
Arch. Iran. Med.
Year:
2012
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