The correct ratio of all necessary organic substances, vitamins, micro- and macrocells ensures a normal metabolism in the body, and this is achieved by sufficient intake of them from food, absorption in the small intestine and transportation to cells and tissues.
One of the most significant metals for humans is iron, since it is included in the structure of all porphyrin compounds, namely pigment proteins (hemoglobin, myoglobin), cytochromes, is a coenzyme in many catalytic reactions. Due to its significant role, the body has a constant supply of it in the liver, bone marrow and spleen in the form of ferritin, and in many tissues in the form of hemosiderin. And in the blood there is a so-called. serum iron, that is, in conjunction with the transport protein transportrin. This stock is used by the body primarily, temporarily leaving the depot in the tissues and organs untouchable. Moreover, it is equally involved both in iron deficiency and in excess. Also, this indicator is labile depending on the time of day, age and gender. So, serum iron reaches its maximum in the morning and gradually decreases in the evening, and in men the concentration is higher than in women. Also, its decline is observed with age and during pregnancy.
Norm and reasons for deviations from it
The norm of serum iron in men is 11.64 - 30.43 μmol / L, and in women the lower limit of this indicator is an order of magnitude lower - only 8.95 μmol / L. Its content in the blood decreases significantly with a deficiency in the intake of metal in the body (lack of food, pathological changes in the intestine that impede its normal absorption), due to bleeding, with severe chronic diseases of the liver and kidneys, cholestatic syndrome, infections, and many others. other
On the contrary, serum iron increases with its
parenteral administration with drugs, blood transfusions
, hemolysis of red blood cells of an infectious or toxic nature, with hyperchromic anemia due to a deficiency of vitamins B9 and B12, with the use of certain drugs (estrogens, methotrexate,
oral contraceptives, a number of antibiotics) . Thus, this indicator is very labile, and also quite sensitive to metabolic and inflammatory changes in the body. In this regard, there is a special analysis for serum iron in the blood (the norm is indicated above). Fluctuations of this indicator are measured by spectrophotometric method.
The subtleties of analysis
Indications for this analysis are severe intoxication, infectious and systemic diseases, hypovitaminosis, differential diagnosis of anemic syndrome, as well as monitoring of its therapy. Serum iron is measured in blood taken early in the morning, on an empty stomach. At the same time, if the patient is not in hospital treatment, it is important to warn him that a week before the test he stops taking iron-containing preparations and food additives, since this can distort the real value of the measured indicator.