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.
Keywords