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Cryoglobulinemia in transfusion-dependent thalassemia major
C Dessì1, M G Clemente, G Diana
1Istituto di Clinica e Biologia dell'Età Evolutiva, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of cryoglobulinemia and associated symptoms in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients at high risk for HCV infection.
Methods:
A controlled epidemiological study was used to evaluate the prevalence of clinical, biochemical and immunological abnormalities in a group of 264 HCV-positive and 106 HCV-negative transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. Haematologic and hepatic function tests were performed according to standard methods. HCV-RNA was detected by PCR analysis.
Results:
The significant presence of cryoglobulinemia and associated symptoms (purpura, vasculitis, arthritis, asthenia, proteinuria), serum autoantibodies (SMA, anti-GOR, ANA, LKM), low complement and rheumatoid factor were found in HCV-positive compared with HCV-negative patients.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrates the role of HCV in inducing cryoglobulinemia and immunological disorders in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. HCV infection and associated immune abnormalities are a new clinical aspect of, and deserve particular attention due to their high frequency in, transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.