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Effect of different modalities of chelation in Beta Thalassemia
2728-2732
Correspondence
Dr. Ashuma Sachdeva ,1214 Sector -1,HUDA,
Rohtak-124001, Haryana, India.
ashuma@in.com
Beta-thalassemia major is a genetic blood disorder that results in defective production of haemoglobin.In India, almost 25 million people are carriers of beta-Thalassemia gene. Beta Thalassemia affects almost all body organ systemsand the main stay of treatment is regular blood transfusion which has its associated complications, the most important being iron overload.The iron chelators have a major role improving the life expectancy of the patients. Desferrioxamine and Deferiprone are two such chelating agents being used in patients on blood transfusion.
Methods: We carried out a study on 45 Thalassemics receiving blood transfusion and divided them into three groups on the basis of iron chelators used. Their cardiac and hepatic status was assessed and correlated with serum ferretin levels that had been on chelation therapy for a minimum of six months. Results: The serum ferretin did not show a significant change in all three groups but the patients on combination therapy showed improvement in cardiac and hepatic functions.
Conclusion: Although promising, a longer duration of study on a larger number of patients is required to assess the beneficial effect of combination therapy over individual chelators.