Influence of genetic polymorphisms and mutations in the cardiac pathology of iron overload in thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients: a retrospective study

Cardiac disease in thalassemia is determined by the accumulation of iron in the tissue. Genetic factors could influence the severity and the rapidity of the modifications of the cardiac tissue. Mutations or polymorphisms of genes have already been described as being implicated in cardiac disease. In particular, we studied the polymorphisms C1091T in the Connexin 37 gene (CX 37), 4G -668 5G in the Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 gene (PAI 1) and 5A-1171 6A in the Stromelysin-1 gene (SL) in 193 randomly selected patients affected by hemoglobinopathies and 100 normal subjects randomly selected from the general population. A retrospective analysis based on history, clinical data and imaging s…

Reliability of EMA Binding Test in Diagnosis of Hereditary Spherocytosis in Italian Patients

Glutathione S Transferase Polymorphisms Influence on Iron Overload in β-Thalassemia Patients

In patients with β-thalassemia iron overload that leads to damage to vital organs is observed. Glutathione S transferase (GST) enzymes have an antioxidant role in detoxification processes of toxic substances. This role is determined genetically. In this study, we correlated GSTT1 and GSTM1 genotypes with iron overload measured with direct and indirect non-invasive methods; in particular, we used serum ferritin and signal intensity of the magnetic resonance image (MRI) in 42 patients with β-thalassemia, which were regularly subjected to chelation and transfusion therapy. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the genotype. The loss of both alleles leads to a decreased valu…