Sunday, October 4, 2009

Test 'spots blood disease danger' (UK)

"UK experts say they have found a way of predicting which thalassaemia patients are going to develop heart failure. The technique uses a magnetic resonance scanner to measure the level of iron in the heart, which builds to life-threatening levels in some patients. The study, published in the journal Circulation, suggests the technique leads to a 71% reduction in deaths. Thalassaemia is an inherited disorder of the blood system which causes a lack of haemoglobin. A government spokesman said it could significantly help in the management of people with thalassaemia. The teams at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College tried the technique on 652 patients over seven years" - BBC

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