Auditory cortex hypoperfusion: a metabolic hallmark in Beta Thalassemia.

Background: Sensorineural hearing loss in beta-thalassemia is common and it is generally associated with iron chelation therapy. However, data are scarce, especially on adult populations, and a possible involvement of the central auditory areas has not been investigated yet. We performed a multicenter cross-sectional audiological and single-center 3Tesla brain perfusion MRI study enrolling 77 transfusion-dependent/non transfusion-dependent adult patients and 56 healthy controls.

Association of elevated levels of prothrombin fragment 1+2 and Arg506 to Gln mutation in patients with a history of ischemic stroke.

Background: Recent findings have indicated the association between APC-resistance and cerebrovascular disease. These reports prompted us to investigate whether resistance to APC could be found in patients suffering from stroke.

Methods: Therefore, we studied APC-resistance in 50 young adults (< or =45 yrs) with a history of ischemic stroke.