Iron deficiency is one of the most serious nutritional problems confronting the United States and the world today. An understanding of the mechanisms operative in the control of uptake and utilization of iron is essential to develop suitable prophylactic and therapeutic strategies. Iron excess can also be a serious health hazard. Studies on Bantu siderosis, hemochromatosis and other overload pathologies also provide insight into the intake and storage of this metal. Several models for iron transport across the mucosal membrane are developed. The most satisfactory seems to involve chelation of the iron to provide solubility diffusion passively across the gut membrane, and equilibrium binding to various storage sites within the tissue. Both ferric and ferrous forms are available. The solution chemistry of iron governs its biological behavior. Low-molecular-weight compounds present in normal dietary foodstuffs, as well as those prepared synthetically, can enhance the uptake of oral iron. Suitable application of complexes of iron with fructose, nitrilotriacetate, citrate and other molecules should be efficacious in the treatment of iron deficiency anemia. Potential dangers of food fortification with iron are acknowledged, and application of immunoassay techniques for measuring circulating ferritin suggest it as a rapid and inexpensive monitor for overload.

Alcoholism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Lymphomas: membrane markers and cell flow cytometric diagnosis.

Lymphocytes are characterized by membrane markers which, in part, reflect biological and functional activity. This is particularly true for T lymphocyte subsets identified by monoclonal antibodies. The B lymphocytes can be identified but in a more general manner. It has been proposed that the use of these markers will aid in the differential diagnosis of a variety of lymphomas. The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of monoclonal antibodies (MAb-s) and surface immunoglobulin (sIg) analysis in a cell flow cytometer (CFC) as methods to identify and classify lymphomas. The cell flow cytometric findings were then evaluated in light of the histopathologic diagnosis (HPD). Fifty-eight (58) patients with a variety of lymphomas and benign lymph node disorders were studied. Lymph node tissue samples were obtained after surgical removal and appropriately prepared for evaluation in a CFC. Results showed that the variety of hyperplasias and reactive follicular lymphadenopathies could not be characterized by the technique or application of CFC alone. Both B cell and T cell lymphomas could be recognized and differentiated by MAb-s and/or light chain monotypism using sIg's in a CFC, but morphologic and clinical information were required for diagnostic confirmation. Hodgkin's disease could not be identified by CFC because of the lack of a specific identifiable marker. Cell flow cytometry provides an easy and rapid adjunct to the diagnosis of a variety of lymphomas. At the present time, membrane markers in cell suspensions from tissues (lymph nodes) identified by MAb-s and sIg's in a CFC cannot be used to provide definitive diagnoses for reactive lymphadenopathies, Hodgkin's disease or some classes of lymphomas.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗