British researchers have used T2* measures of cardiac iron loading to show the value of a new drug treatment for beta-thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder. The laborious clinical trial involved transporting a mobile MRI system three times from London to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
British researchers have used T2* measures of cardiac iron loading to show the value of a new drug treatment for beta-thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder. The laborious clinical trial involved transporting a mobile MRI system three times from London to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
Researchers found a 40% increase in T2* values, which represents a statistically significant drop in myocardial iron among beta-thalassemia patients who received a combined deferoxamine/deferiprone treatment for 12 months, according to Dr. Mark A. Tanner, a contrast MR researcher at Royal Brompton Hospital in London. T2* increases in the placebo-treated group were much smaller.
The results suggest that combined deferoxamine/deferiprone therapy will reduce the likelihood of cardiac iron loading and the threat of lethal complications, Tanner said.
"I suggest that combined therapy be considered in all patients who fail to achieve adequate iron load status on deferoxamine alone," he said.
This special section was compiled by James Brice, senior editor of Diagnostic Imaging.
Can Generative AI Facilitate Simulated Contrast Enhancement for Prostate MRI?
January 14th 2025Deep learning synthesis of contrast-enhanced MRI from non-contrast prostate MRI sequences provided an average multiscale structural similarity index of 70 percent with actual contrast-enhanced prostate MRI in external validation testing from newly published research.
Can MRI Have an Impact with Fertility-Sparing Treatments for Endometrial and Cervical Cancers?
January 9th 2025In a literature review that includes insights from recently issued guidelines from multiple European medical societies, researchers discuss the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in facilitating appropriate patient selection for fertility-sparing treatments to address early-stage endometrial and cervical cancer.
Surveillance Breast MRI Associated with Lower Risks of Advanced Second Breast Cancers
January 8th 2025After propensity score matching in a study of over 3,000 women with a personal history of breast cancer, researchers found that surveillance breast MRI facilitated a 59 percent lower risk in advanced presentations of second breast cancers.
New Survey Explores Radiologist and Neurologist Comfort Level with AI Triage for Brain MRI
January 7th 2025Survey results revealed that 71 percent of clinicians preferred adjunctive AI in facilitating triage of brain MRI scans and 58 percent were comfortable utilizing AI triage without input from radiologists.