The form of iron oxide deposits in thalassemic tissues varies between different groups of patients: a comparison between Thai beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E patients and Australian beta-thalassemia patients.
Mössbauer spectra of 12 beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E spleen samples from Thai patients who had not received multiple blood transfusions and chelation therapy and seven beta-thalassemia spleen samples from Australian patients who had received multiple blood transfusions and chelation therapy were recorded with sample temperatures of 78 K. Each spectrum was found to consist of a superposition of a relatively intense central doublet characteristic of high-spin Fe(III), a low intensity sextet of peaks due to magnetic hyperfine-field splitting, and occasionally a doublet that could be attributed to heme iron. A significant (P=0.01) difference (Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic of 0.71) between the distributions of sextet signal intensity as a fraction (Fs) of the total non-heme iron Mössbauer spectral signal for the two groups of patients was detected. The distribution of Fs for the Thai beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E spleens had a mean value of 0.128 (S.D. 0.035) while that for the Australian beta-thalassemia spleens had a mean of 0.27 (S.D. 0.12). No significant difference between the distributions of non-heme iron concentrations in the tissues for the two groups of patients was detected by atomic absorption spectrometry. This study shows that the Australian beta-thalassemia patients had a higher fraction of their non-heme spleen iron in a goethite-like form than the Thai beta-thalassemia/Hb E patients.
St Pierre
T G
TG
Department of Physics, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, WA 6907, Australia. stpierre@physics.uwa.edu.au
Chua-anusorn
W
W
Webb
J
J
Macey
D
D
Pootrakul
P
P
D015913:Chelation Therapy; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D006446:Hemoglobin E; D006456:Hemoglobinuria / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D058085:Iron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D008903:Minerals; D015204:Spectroscopy, Mossbauer; D013154:Spleen / Q000737:chemistry*; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy
D005290:Ferric Compounds; D058085:Iron Compounds; D008903:Minerals; C094886:goethite; C000499:ferric oxide; D006446:Hemoglobin E