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Iron deficiency is more common in women than in men, and it often goes undiagnosed. Doctors share the top signs of an iron deficiency and ways you can treat it. ... Normal levels of ferritin are ...
The ideal is to increase the body's iron deposits, measured as levels of ferritin in serum, with the aim of reaching a ferritin value between 30 and 100 ng/mL. Another clinical study has shown an increase in ferritin levels in those taking iron compared with others receiving a placebo . [ 11 ]
Iron overload (also known as haemochromatosis or hemochromatosis) is the abnormal and increased accumulation of total iron in the body, leading to organ damage. [1] The primary mechanism of organ damage is oxidative stress, as elevated intracellular iron levels increase free radical formation via the Fenton reaction.
The ferritin levels measured usually have a direct correlation with the total amount of iron stored in the body. However, ferritin levels may be artificially high in cases of anemia of chronic disease, where ferritin is elevated in its capacity as an inflammatory acute phase protein and not as a marker for iron overload. [citation needed]
Iron can be stored in ferritin as ferric iron due to the ferroxidase activity of the ferritin heavy chain. [28] Dysfunctional ferritin may accumulate as hemosiderin, which can be problematic in cases of iron overload. [29] The ferritin storage iron pool is much larger than the labile iron pool, ranging in concentration from 0.7 mM to 3.6 mM. [25]
The goal is to maintain ferritin levels to < 1000 µg/L. [ citation needed ] Currently, two iron chelators are available in the US, deferoxamine for intravenous use and deferasirox for oral use. A third chelating agent is available, deferiprone , but it has limited utility in MDS patients because of a major side effect of neutropenia.
Serum ferritin is a low cost, readily available, and minimally invasive method for assessing body iron stores. However, the major problem with using it as an indicator of hemosiderosis is that it can be elevated in a range of other medical conditions unrelated to iron levels including infection, inflammation, fever, liver disease, renal disease ...
A 2014 Cochrane Review found that blood donors were less likely to be deferred for low hemoglobin levels if they were taking oral iron supplements, although 29% of those who took them experienced side effects in contrast to the 17% that took a placebo. It is unknown what the long-term effects of iron supplementation for blood donors may be.