OBJECTIVE This retrospective study evaluated iron chelating therapy (ICT) discontinuation and costs in Sickle cell disease (SCD) Medicaid recipients using healthcare claims from 2006-2010. METHODS Patients with ≥1 SCD diagnosis claim, ≥2 claims for deferoxamine (DFO) or deferosirox (DFX), and continuous enrollment ≥6 months prior to and 18 months following ICT initiation were included. Outcom...

Patients with transfusion-dependent myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have an increased risk of cardiac events, due to both chronic anemia and iron overload. Here, we report the recovery of cardiac function after an intensive iron chelation therapy in a MDS patient who had developed heart failure due to iron overload.

Growth impairment is commonly seen in children with thalassemia despite regular blood transfusions and desferrioxamine treatments. We investigated the growth velocity of 26 prepubertal patients with beta-thalassemia or HbE-beta thalassemia who were transfusion dependent aged between 2 and 13 years. The prevalence of impaired growth velocity (ie, growth velocity less than the third percentile) a...

New measures of iron accumulation in liver and heart (superconducting quantum inference device and magnetic resonance imaging), and oral iron chelators (deferiprone and deferasirox) are available for managing iron overload in thalassemia major. To assure appropriate use of these new health technologies, the Italian Society of Hematology appointed a panel of experts to produce clinical practiceg...

The effects of toxicant metals on human health have been reported in peer-reviewed literature with increasing frequency. Toxicant metals are present in many diseases of aging, especially vascular diseases. Toxicant metals are a natural environmental phenomenon as well as a byproduct of industrialization. The historical experience of toxicologists who treated individuals poisoned by acutely toxi...

INTRODUCTION Ayurvedic medications consist of herbs that may be intentionally combined with metals, such as lead, mercury, iron, and zinc. Ayurvedic practitioners and their patients believe that the toxic properties of the metals are reduced or eliminated during preparation and processing. CASE REPORT A 69 year old Caucasian male retired professional with a prior history of stroke presented f...

The recently discovered increased risk of blood clots, leading to myocardial infarction and sudden death beginning six months after medicated stents are implanted in patients following percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), has left cardiologists pondering what course of action to take. The purpose of adding implanted medication to a stent is to prevent thrombin accumulation and...