It seems the transferrin saturation point for assessing adequate iron
stores has been LOWERED .. pretty soon there won't be ANYBODY who is ..
iron .. deficient ..

Heh .. heh .. heh

<<snip>>
TfSat of 25% appeared as a threshold value, below which there was a
progressive increase in sTfR;
<<snip>>

Haematologica. 2005 Jan;90(1):31-7. Links

The soluble transferrin receptor as a marker of iron homeostasis in
normal subjects and in HFE-related hemochromatosis.

Brandao M, Oliveira JC, Bravo F, Reis J, Garrido I, Porto G.

CBAS, Abel Salazar Institute for the Biomedical Sciences, Porto,
Portugal.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a
clinical marker of erythropoietic activity, also used in the diagnosis
of iron deficiency. In the present paper we explore the meaning of this
parameter in normal physiological conditions of iron homeostasis and in
the setting of iron overload due to hereditary hemochromatosis (HH).
DESIGN AND METHODS: Reference values for sTfR were established in a
population of 42 apparently healthy subjects, analyzed in relation to
other hematologic parameters, namely, hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular
volume (MCV), transferrin saturation (TfSat) and serum ferritin. The
same analysis was done in a group of 45 patients with HH who were
homozygous for the C282Y mutation of HFE and had a wide range of TfSat
values. In addition, individual serial profiles were analyzed in three
patients. RESULTS: In normal subjects circulating sTfR correlated
significantly with the TfSat level, reflecting the systemic effect of
iron availability on the erythropoietic activity in a normal
physiological steady state. A TfSat of 25% appeared as a threshold
value, below which there was a progressive increase in sTfR; this
increase in sTfR occurred concomitantly with a decrease in Hb, MCV and
serum ferritin. In HH patients the up-regulation of sTfR started at
TfSat values as high as 50%. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: The fact
that sTfR up-regulation started at higher TfSat values in HH patients
suggests that the recognition of systemic iron available for
erythropoiesis is altered in this condition. Based on these results, a
new hypothesis is advanced, proposing that the HFE protein in involved
as a sensor of systemic iron availability, via the soluble transferrin
receptor.

PMID: 15642666 [PubMed - in process]

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Who loves ya.
Tom

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