Abstract
Extract: The thickness of the cortical layer of bone at the midshaft of the second metacarpal was determined radiogrammetrically in a sample of 46 children with thalassemia major, divided into two groups based on the level of hemoglobin maintained through transfusion frequency. The ‘high’ hemoglobin group displayed levels of nine grams per 100 milliliters or more and the ‘low’ hemoglobin groups seven grams or less. A group of 23 normal children furnished additional controls. None of the groups differed in the distributions of age, sex or national origin. Though both of the thalassemia groups showed loss of cortical bone relative to the normal, the high hemoglobin group had significantly greater thicknesses of compact bone than the low group. The difference between the thalassemia samples was due to increased periosteal deposition and decreased endosteal resorption.
Speculation: Though more frequent transfusions in thalassemia major seem to have no effect on most growth measurements, it does result in increased cortical bone breadths. This results from a decrease in the excessive hemopoesis associated with thalassemia as well as from an increase in periosteal deposition.
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Johnston, F., Roseman, J. The Effects of More Frequent Transfusions upon Bone Loss in Thalassemia Major. Pediatr Res 1, 479–483 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196711000-00007
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196711000-00007
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