Skip to main content
Archives of Disease in Childhood logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood
. 1980 Jan;55(1):43–45. doi: 10.1136/adc.55.1.43

Serum ferritin, liver iron stores, and liver histology in children with thalassaemia.

S de Virgiliis, G Sanna, G Cornacchia, F Argiolu, V Murgia, M Porcu, A Cao
PMCID: PMC1626725  PMID: 7377816

Abstract

Serum ferritin, liver iron stores, and liver histology were studied in 38 children with thalassaemia major who were being treated by regular blood transfusions. There was no correlation between serum ferritin levels and either the number of transfusions or the amount of iron deposited in the liver. However, for a given level of iron stores, ferritin levels were higher in patients with chronic hepatitis (including chronic aggressive and chronic persistent forms) than in those with hepatic siderosis only. We conclude that serum ferritin reflects tissue iron deposits in regularly transfused thalassaemic patients, only in the absence of hepatitis.

Full text

PDF
44

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Acute and chronic hepatitis revisited. Review by an international group. Lancet. 1977 Oct 29;2(8044):914–919. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Addison G. M., Beamish M. R., Hales C. N., Hodgkins M., Jacobs A., Llewellin P. An immunoradiometric assay for ferritin in the serum of normal subjects and patients with iron deficiency and iron overload. J Clin Pathol. 1972 Apr;25(4):326–329. doi: 10.1136/jcp.25.4.326. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. De Groote J., Desmet V. J., Gedigk P., Korb G., Popper H., Poulsen H., Scheuer P. J., Schmid M., Thaler H., Uehlinger E. A classification of chronic hepatitis. Lancet. 1968 Sep 14;2(7568):626–628. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(68)90710-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Jacobs A., Miller F., Worwood M., Beamish M. R., Wardrop C. A. Ferritin in the serum of normal subjects and patients with iron deficiency and iron overload. Br Med J. 1972 Oct 28;4(5834):206–208. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5834.206. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Jacobs A. Serum ferritin and iron stores. Fed Proc. 1977 Jun;36(7):2024–2027. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kan Y. W., Schwartz E., Nathan D. G. Globin chain synthesis in the alpha thalassemia syndromes. J Clin Invest. 1969 Nov;47(11):2512–2522. doi: 10.1172/JCI105933. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Konijn A. M., Hershko C. Ferritin synthesis in inflammation. I. Pathogenesis of impaired iron release. Br J Haematol. 1977 Sep;37(1):7–16. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Letsky E. A., Miller F., Worwood M., Flynn D. M. Serum ferritin in children with thalassaemia regularly transfused. J Clin Pathol. 1974 Aug;27(8):652–655. doi: 10.1136/jcp.27.8.652. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lipschitz D. A., Cook J. D., Finch C. A. A clinical evaluation of serum ferritin as an index of iron stores. N Engl J Med. 1974 May 30;290(22):1213–1216. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197405302902201. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Masera G., Jean G., Gazzola G., Novakova M. Role of chronic hepatitis in development of thalassaemic liver disease. Arch Dis Child. 1976 Sep;51(9):680–685. doi: 10.1136/adc.51.9.680. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Miles L. E., Lipschitz D. A., Bieber C. P., Cook J. D. Measurement of serum ferritin by a 2-site immunoradiometric assay. Anal Biochem. 1974 Sep;61(1):209–224. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(74)90347-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Modell B. Total management of thalassaemia major. Arch Dis Child. 1977 Jun;52(6):489–500. doi: 10.1136/adc.52.6.489. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Prieto J., Barry M., Sherlock S. Serum ferritin in patients with iron overload and with acute and chronic liver diseases. Gastroenterology. 1975 Mar;68(3):525–533. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES