Volume 5, Number 3—June 1999
Perspective
Iron Loading and Disease Surveillance
Eugene D. Weinberg
Table 5
Methods of strengthening the iron withholding defense system
| Reduction of excessive intake of ingested iron |
| Decreased consumption of red meats (heme iron) |
| Avoidance of processed foods that have been adulterated with inorganic iron or with blood |
| Decreased consumption of alcohol and ascorbic acid |
| Elimination of iron supplements unless an iron deficiency has been correctly diagnosed |
| Reduction of excessive intake of parenteral iron |
| Inject iron saccharates only if unequivocally justified |
| Transfuse blood or erythrocytes only if unequivocally justified |
| Substitute erythropoietin (+ minimal amount of iron) for whole blood transfusions when possible |
| Reduction of excessive inhalation of iron |
| Eliminate use of tobacco |
| Use iron-free chrysotile in place of iron-loaded amosite, crocidolite, tremolite varieties of asbestos |
| Use mask to avoid inhalation of urban air particulates |
| Use mask and protective clothing when mining or cutting ferriferous substances |
| Reduction of iron burden by regular depletion of whole blood or erythrocytes |
| Avoidance of premature hysterectomy |
| Routine ingestion of aspirin |
| Regular donations of whole blood or erythrocytes |
| Vigorous exercise |
| Increased use of iron chelators |
| Use human milk (high in lactoferrin, low in iron) rather than milk formula (lacking in lactoferrin, high in iron) in nursling nutrition |
| Use tea (iron-binding tannins) and bran (iron-binding phytic acid) |
| Continue research and development (R&D) of potential iron chelator drugs (e.g., recombinant human lactoferrin; hydroxpyridones; pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazones) |
| Initiation of prompt therapy of chronic infections and neoplastic diseases to forestall saturation of iron withholding defense system |
| Continued R&D of cytokines such as interferon g that induce cellular iron withholding |
| Continued R&D of passive and active methods of immunization against surface receptor proteins used by microbial and neoplastic cells to obtain iron |
