BJR
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Salo, S
Right arrow Articles by Komu, M
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Salo, S
Right arrow Articles by Komu, M
British Journal of Radiology 75 (2002),24-27 © 2002 The British Institute of Radiology

Full paper

The effect of haemosiderosis and blood transfusions on the T2 relaxation time and 1/T2 relaxation rate of liver tissue

S Salo, MD 1 A Alanen, MD 1 R Leino, MD 2 S Bondestam, MD 3 and M Komu, PhD 1

Departments of 1Diagnostic Radiology and 2Medicine, Turku University, FIN 20520 Turku and 3Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, FIN 00290 Helsinki, Finland

Correspondence: Sakari Salo, MD, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Turku University Hospital, PL 52, FIN-20521 Turku, Finland

Patients with chronic anaemia need repeated blood transfusions, which eventually lead to iron overload. The excess iron from blood transfusions is deposited in the reticuloendothelial system and in the parenchymal cells of the liver, spleen and other organs. Cellular damage is likely to occur when iron overload in the liver is pronounced. Liver biopsy is still necessary to evaluate the degree of haemosiderosis or haemochromatosis. To avoid this invasive procedure, methods have been sought to determine the concentration of iron in liver tissue and to estimate the effect of the treatment of haemosiderosis or haemochromatosis. In this MRI study, the T2 relaxation time and the 1/T2 relaxation rate of liver were determined in 23 patients who had undergone repeated blood transfusions for chronic anaemia. The first 60 transfusions had the greatest influence on the measured T2 relaxation time, with T2 relaxation time decreasing as haemosiderosis progresses. The 1/T2 relaxation rate increases significantly in a linear fashion when the number of blood transfusions increases up to 60. After 60 transfusions the influence of additional blood transfusions on the T2 value was minimal; the same response, although in reverse, was seen in the 1/T2 relaxation rate curve. One possible explanation for this may be that the MR system could detect the effect of only a limited amount of iron excess and any concentration over this limit gives a very short T2 relaxation time and a very weak signal from the liver, which is overwhelmed by background noise. However, in mild and moderate haemosiderosis caused by blood transfusions, T2 relaxation time and 1/T2 relaxation rate reflect iron accumulation in liver tissue.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 RadiologyHome page
R. J. H. Borra, S. Salo, K. Dean, R. Lautamaki, P. Nuutila, M. Komu, and R. Parkkola
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Rapid Evaluation of Liver Fat Content with In-Phase and Out-of-Phase MR Imaging
Radiology, January 1, 2009; 250(1): 130 - 136.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 BloodHome page
G. M. Brittenham and D. G. Badman
Noninvasive measurement of iron: report of an NIDDK workshop
Blood, January 1, 2003; 101(1): 15 - 19.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
BJR DMFR IMAGING  ALL BIR JOURNALS 
Copyright © 2002 by the British Institute of Radiology.