ArticleJournal of translational medicine2026
Exercise reveals precocious-subclinical cardiovascular and muscular dysfunction in transfusion dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT) patients without cardiac iron overload.
Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTransfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) is characterized by reduced exercise capacity due to chronic hemolytic anemia, iron overload cardiomyopathy, and potential skeletal muscle alterations. Early cardiovascular and muscular dysfunction in the absence of cardiac iron overload remains poorly characterized.
methodsIn this exploratory study, 9 TDT patients without cardiac iron overload and with normal body mass index (BMI) were matched with 9 healthy controls. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing combined with lung ultrasound (LUS-CPET) was used to assess exercise-induced lung congestion and diastolic dysfunction. Serum biomarkers of endothelial activation (ICAM-1) and muscle-metabolic function (FGF21, miR-577) were evaluated. Resting echocardiography, handgrip strength, and body composition by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) were also assessed.
resultsAt rest, cardiac output and diastolic function were comparable between groups. However, during LUS-CPET, TDT patients exhibited significantly lower VO₂max, O₂ pulse, and chronotropic index, along with increased B-lines, consistent with exercise-induced diastolic dysfunction. TDT patients also showed reduced lean body mass and handgrip strength. FGF21 levels were elevated at rest and post-exercise, whereas miR-577 levels were reduced. Post-exercise ICAM-1 levels were significantly higher in TDT patients compared to controls.
conclusionsLUS-CPET may represent a useful non-invasive approach to identify early exercise-induced diastolic dysfunction in TDT patients without cardiac iron overload. Altered FGF21 and miR-577 profiles suggest the presence of metabolic dysregulation associated with early skeletal muscle deconditioning.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.