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Abstract #3718

Preferential Patterns of Myocardial Iron Deposition by Multislice Multiecho T2* CMR in Thalassemia Major Patients.

Antonella Meloni1, Vincenzo Positano1, Alessia Pepe1, Pasquale Pepe1, Maria Chiara Dell'Amico1, Cristina Salvatori1, Petra Keilberg1, Gianluca Valeri2, Eliana Cracolici3, Pier Paolo Bitti4, Angelo Zuccarelli5, Maria Filomena Santarelli1, Massimo Lombardi1

1MRI Lab, G. Monasterio Foundation and Institute of Clinical Physiology, CNR, Pisa, Italy; 2Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti "Umberto I-Lancisi-Salesi", Ancona, Italy; 3Policlinico "Paolo Giaccone" , Palermo, Italy; 4Dipartimento dei Servizi - P. O. San Francesco, Nuoro, Italy; 5Centro trasfusionale e di microcitemia - Ospedale civile, Olbia, Italy


Multislice multiecho T2* MRI allows quantification of iron overload in the whole myocardium. A preferential pattern of iron store in anterior and inferior regions appears to be present in thalassemia major patients with severe and mild-moderate iron overload. The preserved pattern between the groups prevents attributing this datum to additive susceptibility artefacts, which are negligible in heavily iron-loaded patients. A segmental T2* CMR approach could identify early iron deposit, useful for tailoring chelation therapy and preventing myocardial dysfunction in the clinical setting.