Patients Sought for NYU-CU Exjade Cardiac Study
August 19, 2009 – Thalassemia patients are needed for a study examining the effects of Exjade on removing iron from the heart. Researchers at New York University (NYU) and Columbia University are seeking 4 thalassemia patients who are currently undergoing chelation therapy using Exjade.
Patients will be asked to go to NYU between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. on two consecutive Wednesday afternoons to undergo MRI evaluation of cardiac iron. The first MRI will be done after the patient has been off of Exjade for a period of one week. After the first MRI, the patient will restart Exjade and the second MRI will be recorded one week later to see what effect it may have had on the iron in the heart. Each MRI will last approximately 30 minutes.
New York area patients interested in participating in the study should contact Dr. Sujit Sheth at ss125@columbia.edu for more information.