Magnetic resonance assessment of iron overload by separate measurement of tissue ferritin and hemosiderin iron.
With transfusional iron overload, almost all the excess iron is sequestered intracellularly as rapidly mobilizable, dispersed, soluble ferritin iron, and as aggregated, insoluble hemosiderin iron for long-term storage. Established magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicators of tissue iron (R(2), R(2)*) are principally influenced by hemosiderin iron and change slowly, even with intensive iron chelation. Intracellular ferritin iron is evidently in equilibrium with the low-molecular-weight cytosolic iron pool that can change rapidly with iron chelation. We have developed a new MRI method to separately measure ferritin and hemosiderin iron, based on the non-monoexponential signal decay induced by aggregated iron in multiple-spin-echo sequences. We have initially validated the method in agarose phantoms and in human liver explants and shown the feasibility of its application in patients with thalassemia major. Measurement of tissue ferritin iron is a promising new means to rapidly evaluate the effectiveness of iron-chelating regimens.
Wu
Ed X
EX
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
Kim
Daniel
D
Tosti
Christina L
CL
Tang
Haiying
H
Jensen
Jens H
JH
Cheung
Jerry S
JS
Feng
Li
L
Au
Wing-Yan
WY
Ha
Shau-Yin
SY
Sheth
Sujit S
SS
Brown
Truman R
TR
Brittenham
Gary M
GM
D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006485:Hemosiderin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D019190:Iron Overload / Q000378:metabolism*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D005293:Ferritins; D006485:Hemosiderin; D007501:Iron