title: MR imaging technique for the diagnosis of pituitary iron overload in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major.
abstract: To identify the optimal MR imaging technique for diagnosing pituitary iron overload, we compared spin-echo and gradient-echo MR imaging with measurements of pituitary T2 relaxation times in 30 patients with secondary hemochromatosis due to transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia major and in 10 healthy volunteers. We found that the optimal MR imaging technique to evaluate pituitary iron overload is the gradient-echo T2*-weighted technique, as it best demonstrated signal reduction in the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Radiology P. Cignolini, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sparacia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Midiri
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iaia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D065227:Transfusion Reaction; D017086:beta-Thalassemia / Q000628:therapy*