title: Non-specific iron in patients with beta-thalassaemia trait and chronic active hepatitis.
abstract: A non-specific iron fraction, not bound to transferrin, has been looked for in the sera of 42 never-transfused patients with beta-thalassaemia trait, 17 of whom had chronic active hepatitis, negative for HBV infection or alcohol abuse. Non-specific iron was found only in the sera of those patients with beta-thalassaemia trait plus chronic active hepatitis who had complete transferrin saturation, high serum ferritin levels and urinary iron excretion and a high degree of hepatic siderosis. In view of the known toxicity of non-transferrin iron, we suggest that this non-transferrin iron fraction may be responsible for the liver damage in these patients. Furthermore, the positive correlation between the presence and the amount of non-transferrin iron and the levels of serum ferritin suggests that this fraction is a sensitive indicator of iron-induced toxicity when severe iron overload slowly develops in patients with beta-thalassaemia trait even in the absence of any iron administration.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000097:blood*; D014168:Transferrin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014168:Transferrin; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron