Dear Editor,
Recently, we have published a paper evaluating brain lesions in transfusion-dependent patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM) in Southern Iran [1]. In this study, the frequency of silent cerebral ischemia (SCI) in patients with β-TM was determined as 37.5 %. Pazgal et al. [2] reported a higher frequency (66 %) for silent cerebral infarctions in transfusion-dependent patients with β-TM. Previously, we reported a frequency of 15.8 % for SCI in patients with β-thalassemia intermedia [3]. In this letter, results of evaluation of a sex- and age-matched healthy control group in comparison with our recent paper are reported. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was done by the same technology using a standard four-channel head coil of a 1.5 T MR unit (Siemens, Avanto, Germany) with the same previous detail [4]. Forty normal healthy subjects at an age range of 12–45 years were randomly selected, and informed consent was taken before the study. All MRI results in the control group were normal without detecting any brain lesion. This adds further support to the positive findings in patients with beta-thalassemia, and the findings are real and not an artifact.
References
Karimi M, Toosi F, Haghpanah S, Pishdad P, Avazpour A, Rachmilewitz EA (2016) The frequency of silent cerebral ischemia in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major. Ann Hematol 95(1):135–139
Pazgal I, Inbar E, Cohen M, Shpilberg O, Raanani P, Rachmilewitz E, Stark P (2014) C0431: high incidence of thrombotic cerebral lesions in adult patients with beta-thalassemia major. Thromb Res 133:S116
Karimi M, Haghpanah S, Bagheri MH, Bordbar MR, Pishdad P, Rachmilewitz EA (2012) Frequency and distribution of asymptomatic brain lesions in patients with beta-thalassemia intermedia. Ann Hematol 91(12):1833–1838
Mikulis DJ, Roberts TP (2007) Neuro MR: protocols. J Magn Reson Imaging 26(4):838–847
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Shiraz University of Medical sciences for financial and approval support and MRI technicians of Faghihi Hospital Shiraz, Iran.
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Karimi, M., Haghpanah, S., Pishdad, P. et al. Frequency of silent cerebral ischemia in patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia major compared to healthy individuals. Ann Hematol 95, 1387 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2713-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-016-2713-z