الفهرس 
Aim of the WorkOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Β-thalassemia syndromes are the most common inherited hemoglobinopathies in the world which is caused by an autosomal recessive genetic deficiency in the β-globin chain that leads to accumulation of unpaired α-globin chains. In Egypt it has been estimated that 1000 children out of 1.5 million live births are born annually with thalassemia major, the carrier rate in Egypt has been reported to be in the range of 9-10 % [1].
Renal dysfunction in thalassemia may occur before the occurrence of any symptoms or complications and may be explained by anemia, repeated blood transfusion and iron overload a well as by toxicity of chelators [5].
NGAL levels are highly increased in kidney cortical tubules, blood and urine. Induction of NGAL after kidney injury precedes the elevation of classical markers for kidney damage, e.g. serum creatinine, serum urea and β2-microglobulin levels [4].
The aim of the current study was to assess value of serum Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) in children with β-thalassemia major as an early marker of kidney injury.
This study was conducted from first of December 2019 to the last of August 2020 including a total number of 30 thalassemia patients and 30 age and gender-matched healthy controls, who were attending the hematology outpatient clinic at pediatric Department of Menoufia University during the study period.
The study included two groups:
• Patient group: It included 30 multi-transfused β-thalassemia major patients, they were 21 males and 9 females. Their ages ranged from 1 to 14 years with a mean±SD 8.18±3.49.
• Control group: It included 30 apparently healthy children with the same age, sex and socioeconomic status as control, they were 19 males and 11 females. Their ages ranged from 2 to 14 years with a mean±SD 8.53±3.43.
Patients and controls were subjected to detailed history taking, full clinical examination, and laboratory investigations including: complete blood picture, Reticulocytic count, renal function tests, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum ferritin and measurement of serum Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) levels by ELISA technique for all patients and control.