Iron-induced cardiomyopathy is the most common death cause for patients suffering from thalassemic disease, as well as a recurrent finding in multi-transfused patients with acquired anemias. Iron overload-related cardiomyopathy is reversible, but the diagnosis is often delayed due to the late appearance of symptoms and echocardiographic abnormalities Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance has an established role in managing and predicting prognosis of patients with Thalassemia Majorand has proved to be useful for chelation therapy evaluation in these patients.Thalassemia Intermedia is a milder variant of beta-thalassemia, showing a...

We considered 155 Thalassemia Intermedia patients (81 F, mean age 41.74±13.31 years) consecutively enrolled in the E-MIOT (Extension-Myocardial Iron Overload in Thalassemia) project. Pancreatic and myocardial iron overload (MIO) were measured by T2* multiecho technique(GRE T2* multiecho sequences[10 TEs 2.2-21.8 ms]).T2* measurements were performed over pancreatic head, body and tail and global value was the mean3. Myocardial iron overload wasmeasured by segmental approach on 3 parallel short axis views4. Biventricular function parameters were assessed by cine Steady-State Free Processed (SSFP) images5. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE)...

Global pancreas T2* values were not correlated to age or gender. Ninety patients (58.1%) showed a pathologic pancreas T2* value (< 26 ms) (Fig.1). One-hundred and five patients were transfusion dependent and they showed significantly lower global pancreas T2* values than non-transfusion dependent patients (19.82±12.62 ms vs 28.52±10.81 ms; P

In Thalassemia Intermedia patients a normal pancreas T2* showed negative predictive value of 100% for cardiac iron but pancreatic iron was not correlated to biventricular function parameters and macrosopic myocardial fibrosis.

G. Peritore; Palermo/IT - Author at ARNAS CIVICO Palermo A. Meloni; Pisa/IT - Author at FTGM Pisa L. Pistoia; Pisa/IT - Author at FTGM Pisa N. Giunta; Palermo/IT - Author at ARNAS CIVICO Palermo M. G. Bisconte; Cosenza/IT - Author at Unità Operativa Ematologia - Centro di Microcitemia, Azienda Ospedaliera Cosenza Presidio Ospedaliero “Annunziata” V. Positano; Pisa/IT - Author at FTGM Pisa D. Messana; Palermo/IT - Author at ARNAS CIVICO Palermo A. Pepe; Palermo/IT - Author at FTGM Pisa

1. Noetzli LJ, Papudesi J, Coates TD, Wood JC. Pancreatic iron loading predicts cardiac iron loading in thalassemia major. Blood 2009;114(19):4021-4026. 2. Meloni A, Restaino G, Missere M, et al. Pancreatic iron overload by T2* MRI in a large cohort of well treated thalassemia major patients: Can it tell us heart iron distribution and function? Am J Hematol 2015;90(9):E189-190. 3. Meloni A, De Marchi D, Positano V, et al. Accurate estimate of pancreatic T2* values: how to deal with fat infiltration. Abdom Imaging 2015;40(8):3129-3136. 4....