ABSTRACT
Osteopenia and osteoporosis are well known complications in beta thalassemia major (TM) patients. Their main cause is bone marrow hyperfunctioning. Hydroxyurea (HU) has recently been used successfully in TM to control ineffective erythropoiesis. This study was designed to measure the bone density of TM patients and evaluate whether the use of HU in these patients affects the development of osteoporosis. Sixty three patients with TM, 67% female, aged 25 -/+ 7.2, were included in the study. Forty four percent were on HU and 56% had regular blood transfusions. Z-scores of the BD of femur and lumbar spine were -1.85 -/+ .78 and -1.61 -/+ 1.03 respectively and were the same in both sexes. Twenty two percent had normal BD, 45% were osteopenic, 17% had osteoporosis, and 16% had severe osteoporosis. There was no statistically significant correlation between BD and age. In a case-control analysis, BDs of 16 patients taking HU for at least 2 years were compared to 16 patients matched by sex and age who did not use HU. The bone densities in each group were not statistically different. Osteopenia is common in our patients. As a more severe osteopenia was expected in patients who were not on blood transfusions, HU may have some beneficial effect.
