Brain positron emission tomography in splenectomized adults with â-thalassemia intermedia: uncovering yet another covert abnormality
- نوع فایل : کتاب
- زبان : انگلیسی
- مؤلف : Khaled M. Musallam &Wassim Nasreddine & Ahmad Beydoun & Roula Hourani & Ahmed Hankir & Suzanne Koussa &Mohamad Haidar & Ali T. Taher
- چاپ و سال / کشور: 2011
Description
Covert brain infarction is an emerging concern in patients with β-thalassemia intermedia (TI). We have recently observed a high prevalence (60%) of silent brain infarction on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 30 splenectomized adults with TI. In this work, we further evaluate cerebral involvement in the same 30 patients using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) scanning. The median age was 32 years (range, 18–54 years) with a male to female ratio of 13:17. Nineteen patients (63.3%) had evidence of decreased neuronal function on PET-CT. Involvement was mostly left sided, multiple, and most commonly in the temporal and parietal lobes. Elevated liver iron concentration, beyond 15 mg Fe/g dry weight, characterized patients with decreased neuronal function. The concordance rate between brain MRI and PETCT for the detection of brain abnormality was only 36.7% (Kappa 0.056, P=0.757), highlighting that both modalities reveal different types of brain pathology. Decreased neuronal function is a common finding in patients with TI and is associated with iron overload. Moreover, the addition of PETCT to MRI identifies a greater proportion of TI patients with silent neuroimaging abnormalities.
Ann Hematol DOI 10.1007/s00277-011-1291-3 Received: 3 May 2011 / Accepted: 1 July 2011
