Longitudinal changes in serum ferritin levels correlate with measures of hepatic stiffness in transfusion-independent patients with ¦Â-thalassemia intermedia

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• 作者：Khaled M. Musallam ; Irene Motta ; Marta Salvatori ; Mirella Fraquelli ; Alessia Marcon ; Ali T. Taher ; Maria Domenica Cappellini
• 关键词：Thalassemia intermedia ; Iron ; Chelation ; Liver ; Fibrosis
• 刊名：Blood Cells, Molecules, and Diseases
• 出版年：2012
• 出版时间：15 October-15 December, 2012
• 年：2012
• 卷：49
• 期：3-4
• 页码：136-139
• 全文大小：215 K

文摘

Despite evidence of considerable iron overload in transfusion-independent patients with ¦Â-thalassemia intermedia, data on hepatic outcomes remain scarce. We analyzed data from a cohort of 42 ¦Â-thalassemia intermedia adults followed for four years (median age 38 years), and evaluated the association between longitudinal changes in serum ferritin levels and transient elastography values, a measure of hepatic stiffness predictive of fibrosis. We observed a significant increase in both serum ferritin levels (+ 81.2 [¦Ìg/l]/year) and transient elastography values in non-chelated patients (n = 28) (+ 0.3 kPa/year), with two patients worsening their fibrosis stage. Chelated patients (n = 14) had a significant decrease in both measures (? 42.0 [¦Ìg/l]/year and ? 0.9 kPa/year, respectively), with two patients improving their fibrosis stage. There was a strong correlation between the rate of change in serum ferritin level and the rate of change in transient elastography value (R²: 0.836, p < 0.001) noted in both non-chelated and chelated patients. An association between iron overload status and hepatic disease merits further evaluation in this subset of transfusion-independent patients.