This study investigates the role of 3.0T R2* imaging for measuring cardiac iron overload. Experiments were conducted on calibrated phantoms and sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. R2* imaging at 3.0T enabled assessment of wide range of iron concentrations. R2* values at 3.0T were about double of those at 1.5T. Myocardial R2* showed weak and strong correlations with hepatic R2* and serum ferriti...

To identify the role of iron overload in the natural history of liver fibrosis, we reviewed serial hepatic biopsy specimens taken annually from patients cured of thalassemia major by bone marrow transplantation. The patients underwent transplantation between 1983 and 1989 and did not receive any chelation or antiviral therapy. Two hundred eleven patients (mean age, 8.7 +/- 4 years) were evaluat...

We previously demonstrated that iron overload induces liver damage by causing the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Taurine is a potent free radical scavenger that attenuates the damage caused by excessive oxygen free radicals. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether taurine could reduce the hepatotoxicity of iron overload with regard to ROS production. Mice...

The metabolic syndrome, clinically defined by the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) (1), affects 25% of western adults (2). The metabolic syndrome is closely linked to insulin resist ance and impl i e s an increased cardiovascular risk (3,4). Accumulating evidence suggests a link between body iron excess and insulin metabolism (5). Studies have shown an association between serum ferritin and o...

One of the major liver fibrogenic activators is the cellular iron overload that can severely damage parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells. The aim of this study was to investigate a histochemical staining technique that allows the simultaneous detection of the irregular deposition of matrix collagen and both the amount and distribution of iron in liver cells on the same histological section. Th...

The liver is the main storage site for iron in the body. Excess accumulation of iron in the liver has been well-documented in two human diseases, hereditary hemochromatosis and dietary iron overload in the African. Hepatic iron overload in these conditions often results in fibrosis and cirrhosis and may be complicated by the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Malignant transformation usua...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections have started to decline, but up to 10,000 deaths each year are the consequence of chronic liver disease, following the infection. Laboratory testing identifies HCV-infected individuals using positive recombinant immunoblot assays to detect the presence of the antibody; the diagnosis is confirmed by detecting HCV RNA in serum. HCV-infected patients who have lar...

transfusion-dependent patients such as those suffering from β-thalassaemia develop a fatal secondary haemosiderosis and consequently a selective iron chelator must be used to relieve such iron overload. 3- hydroxypyridin-4-ones are selective for iron(iii) under most biological conditions, but unlike desferrioxamine, are efficiently absorbed when administered orally. in this study, the synthesis...

iron overload is a serious clinical condition which can be largely prevented by the use of iron-specific chelating agents. in this study, the synthesis and determination of partition coefficients (kpart) of a range of n-alkyl hydroxypyridinones, as orally active iron chelators, are described. synthesis of n-aryl hydroxypyridinones was achieved via a single step synthetic pathway. in this method...