الفهرس 
ThalassemiaOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
β-thalassemia is one of inherited hemoglobin disorders characterized by a quantitative deficiency of functional β-globin chains. Thalassemia is the most common form of inherited anemia worldwide. The World Health Organization reports suggest that about 60,000 infants are born with thalassemia major every year. Although individuals originating from the tropical belt are most at risk, it is a growing global health problem due to extensive population migrations. β-thalassemia represents a major public health problem in Egypt. The carrier rate varies between 5.3% to ≥9%; it is estimated that there are 1000/1.5 million per year live births born with β-thalassemia. In spite of optimal treatment being available, only a few patients can afford it. Unfortunately, most patients suffer from complications of blood transfusions, mainly transfusion transmitted viral infections and iron overload. Iron overload related complications including growth retardation, failure or delay of sexual maturation, involvement of the heart (dilated cardiomyopathy), liver affection (fibrosis and cirrhosis) and other endocrinopathies. Prevention by carrier detection and prenatal diagnosis is needed in populations with high incidence of the disease, such as Egypt. The present study aimed to evaluate pituitary iron overload in children with β thalassemia using MRI T2*, Compare between serum iron status and MRI of pituitary in early detection of iron overload and correlate MRI T2* and biochemical markers of iron overload with pituitary hormones.