Restless legs syndrome: a
community-based study of prevalence, severity, and risk factors.
In a cross-sectional study of 701 individuals ages 50-89
years to assess the prevalence and severity of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS),
investigators report that the serum
iron, transferrin and ferritin were similar in RLS and non-RLS patients, but the
soluble transferrin receptor (sTR) concentrations
were higher in subjects with and without RLS. Female sex and high sTR independently predicted the
risk of RLS. A high sTr
indicates increased iron turnover.
Neurology. 2005 Jun 14;64(11):1920-4.
Serum
ferritin, transferrin and soluble transferrin receptor levels in multiple
sclerosis patients.
The iron indices of 27 patients with MS were studied.
Serum transferrin receptor (sTFR) levels found to be
significantly higher in chronic progressive active MS.
Multiple Sclerosis
2005 Jun;11(3):272-5.
Mutations in
the hemochromatosis gene (HFE) and multiple sclerosis.
Multiple Sclerosis patients carrying the mutant C282Y allele of HFE, the iron
loading gene exhibited earlier onset of disease symptoms relative to other
genotypes.
Neuroscience Letters 2005 Aug 5;383(3):301-4.
Regulation of Hfe by stress factors in BV-2 cells.
Mutations of HFE, the iron loading gene, can be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s
disease.
Neurobiology Aging. 2005 Jun;26(6):803-12.
Brain ferritin
iron as a risk factor for age at onset in neurodegenerative diseases.
Brain iron increases with age and is abnormally elevated early in the disease
process in several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease
(AD) and Parkinson's disease. MRI can be used to measure brain ferritin iron to
target high-risk populations prior to symptom onset.
Dietary and
serum vitamins and minerals as predictors of myocardial infarction and stroke
in elderly subjects.
Subjects aged 65-99 years were followed for up to 10 years to assess dietary
and serum vitamins and minerals for prediction of acute myocardial infarction
(AMI) and stroke. Low intakes of vitamin
D, flavonoids and low serum iron* were predictors of
AMI. Comment: *serum iron is lowered in
patients with anemia of chronic disease (ACD), which is not a condition of iron
deficiency, but of iron withholding.
Nutrition, Metabolism and
Cardiovascular Disease. 2005 Jun;15(3):188-97.
The hemochromatosis C282Y allele:
a risk factor for hepatic veno-occlusive disease
after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
HFE C282Y is a risk factor for hepatic veno-occlusive
disease (HVOD) and carbamyl-phosphate synthetase
(CPS) polymorphisms may counteract its adverse effects.
Bone Marrow Transplant. 2005 April 18.
Iron loading increases
cholesterol accumulation and macrophage scavenger receptor I expression in
THP-1 mononuclear phagocytes.
Loading of mononuclear phagocytes with iron leads to oxidization of LDL,
increased cellular cholesterol accumulation and scavenger receptor expression,
and supports the hypothesis that increased macrophage iron levels promote atherogenesis.
Metabolism. 2005 Apr;54(4):453-9.