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Query: UMLS:C0240066 (iron deficiency)
 7,156 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The iron content of the body is normally closely regulated. Despite this, iron deficiency anaemia is common in women because iron losses due to menstruation and childbirth are not always compensated for by iron absorption from the diet. The role of transferrin in delivering iron to cells and of ferritin in storing iron within cells is well understood but the proteins involved in iron transport across membranes are only now being investigated. Relatively few genetic disorders affecting iron metabolism are known and most are rare. This paper briefly describes pyridoxine responsive sideroblastic anaemia, hyperferritinaemia-cataract syndrome, atransferrinaemia and genetic haemochromatosis. Rather than rare, the latter is one of the most common inherited disorders in northern European populations. Mutations in genes regulating membrane iron transport causing simple iron deficiency have not yet been described.
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PMID:Inborn errors of metabolism: iron. 1074 46

Iron is essential for many metabolic processes but can also cause damage. As a potent generator of hydroxyl radical, the most reactive of the free radicals, iron can cause considerable oxidative stress. Since iron is absorbed through diet but not excreted except through menstruation, total body iron levels buildup with age. Macular iron levels increase with age, in both men and women. This iron has the potential to contribute to retinal degeneration. Here we present an overview of the evidence suggesting that iron may contribute to retinal degenerations. Intraocular iron foreign bodies cause retinal degeneration. Retinal iron buildup resulting from hereditary iron homeostasis disorders aceruloplasminemia, Friedreich's ataxia, and panthothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration cause retinal degeneration. Mice with targeted mutation of the iron exporter ceruloplasmin have age-dependent retinal iron overload and a resulting retinal degeneration with features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Post mortem retinas from patients with AMD have more iron and the iron carrier transferrin than age-matched controls. Over the past 10 years much has been learned about the intricate network of proteins involved in iron handling. Many of these, including transferrin, transferrin receptor, divalent metal transporter-1, ferritin, ferroportin, ceruloplasmin, hephaestin, iron-regulatory protein, and histocompatibility leukocyte antigen class I-like protein involved in iron homeostasis (HFE) have been found in the retina. Some of these proteins have been found in the cornea and lens as well. Levels of the iron carrier transferrin are high in the aqueous and vitreous humors. The functions of these proteins in other tissues, combined with studies on cultured ocular tissues, genetically engineered mice, and eye exams on patients with hereditary iron diseases provide clues regarding their ocular functions. Iron may play a role in a broad range of ocular diseases, including glaucoma, cataract, AMD, and conditions causing intraocular hemorrhage. While iron deficiency must be prevented, the therapeutic potential of limiting iron-induced ocular oxidative damage is high. Systemic, local, or topical iron chelation with an expanding repertoire of drugs has clinical potential.
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PMID:Iron homeostasis and toxicity in retinal degeneration. 1792 Oct 41

Hereditary hyperferritinemia and cataracts syndrome (HHCS) without iron overload is a syndrome first identified less than 3 decades ago. While investigators have dissected the gene where several responsible mutations reside, it remains a relatively unknown genetic disorder to clinicians. The result is often an expensive, invasive evaluation for iron overload, followed by a well-intended prescription for a series of phlebotomies that delivers morbidity instead of benefit. We present a father with an elevated ferritin and heterozygosity for H63D HFE mutation whose clinical course followed this path. His treatment rendered him symptomatic from iron deficiency with no reduction in his ferritin. On re-evaluation, a review of his past medical history clarified the cataract surgery noted in his record had occurred at a young age. Furthermore, one of his daughters required cataract surgery as a teenager. With this information, we strongly suspected HHCS. His phlebotomies were discontinued, and within weeks, his iatrogenic iron deficiency resolved and his health returned to normal.
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PMID:Hereditary Hyperferritinemia-Cataract Syndrome in 3 Generations of a Family in East Tennessee. 3254 95