title: Rate of repair of iron deficiency anemia and blood loss anemia in young and mature rats.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of age on the rate of recovery from iron deficiency and red cell loss anemia in the rat. Iron-deficient diets and exchange transfusions with plasma were used to decrease the hematocrit by about 40% below the control value. The results showed progressively slower reversal of the anemia of red cell loss with increasing age. Hematocrit reached control values after 5, 10, and 14 days, at 50, 100, and 360 days of age, respectively. In contrast, iron-deficiency anemia was reversed at similar rates after intravenous treatment with iron dextran; control hematocrit values were reached after 4 and 5 days in the 50-and 100-day-old rats, respectively. The results indicate that the rate of reversal of the anemia of red cell loss is more age-dependent than the rate of reversal of iron-deficiency anemia in the male rat.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000740:Anemia / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D000747:Anemia, Hypochromic / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D006400:Hematocrit; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013997:Time Factors