Publications by authors named "Giorgio Roberto Baldanzi"
Extramedullary haematopoiesis in patients with thalassemia: a cross-sectional description of its prevalence, clinical features and survival.
Hematol Transfus Cell Ther
November 2024
Introduction: Despite knowledge advances on extramedullary haematopoiesis (EMH) in thalassemic patients, the real picture remains an open issue.
Objectives: To assess EMH prevalence in patients with thalassemia major (TM) and intermedia (TI), to describe magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and to explore clinical risk factors.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, images and clinical records of 184 consecutive patients with thalassemia who underwent T2* MRI between 2004 and 2011 were reviewed.
Cardiac iron overload evaluation in thalassaemic patients using T2* magnetic resonance imaging following chelation therapy: a multicentre cross-sectional study.
Hematol Transfus Cell Ther
May 2021
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness of MRI T2* in measuring iron levels in thalassaemic patients' organs, focusing on the heart, liver, and pancreas during chelation therapy.
- A total of 136 major thalassaemic patients, with a median age of 18, were analyzed, revealing that iron overload primarily affects the liver (99%) and the pancreas (74%), while the heart is less impacted (36%).
- Results showed a significant reduction in heart iron levels after 1.2 years of therapy, and a strong predictive model for assessing cardiac siderosis was developed based on MRI and ferritin levels.
In the absence of an iron chelating agent, patients with beta-thalassemia on regular transfusions present complications of transfusion-related iron overload. Without iron chelation therapy, heart disease is the major cause of death; however, hepatic and endocrine complications also occur. Currently there are three iron chelating agents available for continuous use in patients with thalassemia on regular transfusions (desferrioxamine, deferiprone, and deferasirox) providing good results in reducing cardiac, hepatic and endocrine toxicity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: ABSTRACTObjectives:To evaluate the use of magnetic resonance imaging in patients with β-thalassemia and to compare T2* magnetic resonance imaging results with serum ferritin levels and the redox active fraction of labile plasma iron.
Methods: We have retrospectively evaluated 115 chronically transfused patients (65 women). We tested serum ferritin with chemiluminescence, fraction of labile plasma iron by cellular fluorescence and used T2* MRI to assess iron content in the heart, liver, and pancreas.
Purpose: To assess the correlation between MRI findings of the pancreas with those of the heart and liver in patients with beta thalassemia; to compare the pancreas T2* MRI results with glucose and ferritin levels and labile plasma iron (LPI).
Materials And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated chronically transfused patients, testing glucose with enzymatic tests, serum ferritin with chemiluminescence, LPI with cellular fluorescence, and T2* MRI to assess iron content in the heart, liver, and pancreas. MRI results were compared with one another and with serum glucose, ferritin, and LPI.
Background: Recently, a possible epidemiological association between hepatitis C virus infection and diabetes mellitus has been suggested and a higher prevalence of HCV antibodies has been found among type 2 diabetic when compared with normal controls.
Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of hepatitis C infection in diabetic patients in Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
Patients And Methods: A total of 145 type 2 and 104 type 1 diabetic patients attending the outpatient diabetic unit of an university hospital were consecutively tested for anti-HCV, using a fourth-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).