Quantitative synthetic MRI reveals white matter alterations in patients with beta-thalassemia

Beta-thalassemia (β-TM) is a genetically haematological disorder leading to reduced production of hemoglobin. Yet its alterations in white matter (WM) microstructure remain unclear. The present study aimed to analyze quantitative MRI parameters of WM in β-TM patients using synthetic MRI. The results showed that T1, T2 and T1/T2 ratio of widespread WM areas were affected by β-TM, which may be related to iron deposition and decrease of myelin concentration. Thus, we concluded that WM alterations in β-TM patients can be revealed by quantitative MRI parameters.