Pituitary function in thalassemic patients and the effect of chelation therapy.

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Vannasaeng, Sathit Fucharoen, Suthat Pootrakul, Piyanuch Ploybutr, Sirirat Yansukon, P.
Copyright Year	1991
Abstract	This study examined anterior pituitary function and the effect of chelation therapy in 31 patients with beta-thalassemia/HbE disease. Patients were divided into those receiving chelation therapy by deferoxamine and those receiving no such therapy (control group). Pituitary function studies were repeated in both groups 18 months later. The results showed decreased pituitary responses following stimulation in 22 patients. Among these, gonadotropin and PRL responses were most affected. After 18 months, serum ferritin levels had significantly decreased in the deferoxamine group. PRL and GH responses were improved in 3 patients receiving chelation therapy without changes in other hormone responses. In contrast, no changes in pituitary responses were shown in the control group at the end of follow-up. There were 6 drop-outs (4 in the control and 2 in the deferoxamine group) and 3 deaths (2 in the control and 1 in the deferoxamine group) during 18 months. In conclusion, gonadotropin and PRL deficiencies occur most frequently in thalassemic patients. Chelation therapy for 18 months markedly reduced serum ferritin level and might preserve or improve PRL and GH secretions, but seems to have no beneficial effects on other pituitary hormone reserves.
Starting Page	23
Ending Page	30
Page Count	8
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.1530/acta.0.1240023
PubMed reference number	1900379
Journal	Medline
Volume Number	124
Issue Number	1
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://eje.bioscientifica.com/downloadpdf/journals/eje/124/1/acta_124_1_005.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.1530/acta.0.1240023
Journal	Acta endocrinologica
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article