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Brain Iron: Persistent Deficiency following Short‐term Iron Deprivation in the Young Rat
Author(s) -
Dallman P. R.,
Siimes M. A.,
Manies E. C.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1975.tb00851.x
Subject(s) - iron deficiency , weaning , ferritin , ferrous , medicine , endocrinology , deferoxamine , serum iron , physiology , hemoglobin , chemistry , anemia , organic chemistry
S ummary . This study was designed to determine the content of non‐haem iron in the brain as iron deficiency develops in the rapidly growing rat. Rats were provided with either an iron‐deficient diet or an identical control diet with added ferrous sulphate starting at 10 d of age and continuing after weaning at 21 d. At 28 or 48 d of age the deficient animals received 5 mg of iron (iron dextran) i.m. and were placed on the control diet regimen. The deficient animals had a concentration of non‐haem iron in the brain that was 27% below the control value at 28 d and 22% below at 48 d. After 14–45 d of iron treatment, the non‐haem iron remained depressed, 19–29% below the control means ( P <0.05 to 0.001). Ferritin iron in brain also remained depressed, 33–42% below the control means ( P <0.01). In contrast, haematocrit, liver non‐haem iron, and liver ferritin iron, although they were more profoundly depressed in the iron‐deficient animals, promptly returned to control values after treatment with iron. Thus, a brief period of severe iron deficiency in the young rat resulted in a deficit of brain iron that persisted in the adult animal despite an adequate intake of iron.