MRI assessment of pituitary Iron accumulation by using pituitary-R2 in beta-thalassemia patients
Küçük Resim Yok
Tarih
2018
Dergi Başlığı
Dergi ISSN
Cilt Başlığı
Yayıncı
Sage Publications Ltd
Erişim Hakkı
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Özet
Background: Patients with thalassemia major (TM) require repeated blood transfusions, which leads to accumulation of iron in a wide variety of tissues. Accumulation of iron in the pituitary gland can lead to irreversible hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) in this group of patients. Purpose: To investigate the reliability of pituitary-R.2 as a marker to estimate the extent of pituitary iron load by comparing the pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings with hepatic iron load and serum ferritin levels. Material and Methods: A total of 38 beta-TM patients were classified into HH (group A, n = 18) and non-HH (group B, n = 17) groups. A third group, group C, consisted of 17 healthy participants. Each participant underwent 1.5-T MRI examinations. Pituitary gland heights (PGH), pituitary-R2 values, and liver-R2 values were measured by using multi-echo spin-echo sequences. Results: Pituitary-R2 values were significantly higher in group A compared with group B Rho < 0.05). A positive correlation was detected between the pituitary-R2 values and serum ferritin levels in TM patients Rho < 0. 01) A threshold value of 14.1 Hz for pituitary-R2 was found to give a high specificity and sensitivity in distinguishing the TM patients with HH from those with normal pituitary functions. PGH measurements were significantly lower in group A compared with group B Rho < 0.05). Conclusion: MRI-assessed pituitary-R2 seems to be a reliable marker for differentiating the TM patients with normal pituitary function from those with secondary hypogonadism due to iron toxicity.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
beta-thalassemia, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, iron load, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), pituitary gland
Kaynak
Acta Radiologica
WoS Q Değeri
Q3
Scopus Q Değeri
Cilt
59
Sayı
6
