GET THE IRON

BACK IN YOUR

BLOOD!

NEW TREATMENT

In development that could be revolutionary!

• Tanner skin • Smoother lips • Stronger nails

HEALTHY

WITH RED MEAT!

What’s being affected?

IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE…

IRON

DEFICIENCY

ANEMIA Iron deficiency anemia is the most

common form of anemia. It can occur

in people of all ages, genders and

races. ID Anemia occurs when there

are not enough healthy red blood cells.

In this issue of “Health” you will find

everything you need to know about

iron deficiency anemia!

1

Getting to the roots Explaining the cause and effects of iron deficiency anemia

Low healthy red blood cell count.

Red blood cells contain

hemoglobin, hemoglobin contains

iron.

Iron is what carries oxygen

through the blood stream

Oxygen is needed to breathe.

Without enough oxygen, a

person runs out of breath

easily and eventually runs out

of energy.

Normal amount of read

blood cells (14-16)

Severe anemic amount of

red blood cells

2

Anemia is serious because it directly affects the blood stream

(cardiovascular system) which delivers the unhealthy blood

through most systems in the body. With low iron, each organ is

stinted because it is not receiving enough oxygen. .

HOW DO I KNOW? SYMPTOMS OF IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA

• Anxiety

• OCD type compulsions and obsessions

• Irritability or a low feeling

• Chest pain

• Constipation

• Mouth ulcers

• Palpitations

• Hair loss

• Fainting or feeling faint

• Depression

• Breathlessness on exertion.

• Twitching muscles

• Tingling, numbness, or burning sensations

• Slow social development

• Angular cheilitis (inflammatory lesions at

the mouth's corners)

• Koilonychia (spoon-shaped nails) or nails

that are weak or brittle

• Poor appetite

• Itchiness

• Restless Legs Syndrome

• Pica

If you are experiencing some of these symptoms and think

they may be ID anemia related, go see your doctor. The

doctor will run blood labs and diagnose from the results. If

you are anemic a hematologist will be consulted and figure

out what further steps need to be taken to cure you.

3

Excessive blood loss

Internal bleeding

Not enough iron in diet

Gastric blood loss due to drug therapy (often in the case of

NSAIDs or aspirin)

Malabsorption of iron

Born with an insignificant amount of hemoglobin

Infestation with parasitic worms (hookworms, whipworms,

roundworms)

rapid growth outpacing dietary intake of iron

intravascular hemolysis

diversion of iron to fetal erythropoiesis during pregnancy

4

common

uncommon

Don’t worry!

TREATMENTS There are two treatments for iron deficiency anemia.

Which one you get depends on the severity of the anemia.

BLOOD TRANSFUSION

For severe anemia. (Blood counts

lower than eight)

The patient will have an IV

inserted into a vein in their hand

and receive blood through the

connected tube. This blood comes

from generous donors whose

blood type is O positive (can be

received by all blood types) The

amount of blood given depends on

how much is needed. The

procedure usually takes a couple

of hours and an overnight stay in

the hospital to make sure

everything is okay. Usually a

change in behavior can be seen

within hours.

IRON SUPPLEMENTS

For all types of anemia.

If the anemia is not incredibly

severe it can usually be reversed

by taking iron supplements. These

are pills with high doses of iron.

Usually a difference in behavior

can be seen within a week.

Erythropoietin is a therapeutic agent produced by

recombinant DNA technology in mammalian cell

culture. It is used in treating anemia resulting from

chronic kidney disease and myelodysplasia, from the

treatment of cancer (chemotherapy and radiation).

Current research suggests that, amino acid R103 to E

mutation in Erythropoietin makes it Neuroprotective

and non-erythropoietin. Erythropoietin is a

glycoprotein hormone that controls red blood cell

production. It is a cytokine (protein secreted by lymph

cells that affects cellular activity and controls

inflammation) for red blood cell precursors in the bone

marrow. Erythropoietin has its main effect on red

blood cells by promoting red blood cell survival and

protecting these cells from apoptosis. It also cooperates

with various growth factors involved in the

development of precursor red blood cells.

There has not been a erythropoietin created for iron

deficiency anemia patients, but with all of the new

advancements being made it is quite likely that we will

see it in the near future!

BIBLIOGRAPHY Kosiborod, Mikhail, and Adam C Salisbury. "Diagnostic blood sampling:

how much is too much?" Expert Review of Hematology5.1 (2012): 5+. Gale Power Search. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.

"What Is a Blood Transfusion? - NHLBI, NIH." NIH Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb.

2012. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/bt/>.

"Iron Deficiency Anemia Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments." WebMD - Better information. Better health.. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb.

2012. <http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/iron-deficiency-anemia-

topic-overview?page=2>.

"Erythropoietin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb.

2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythropoietin>.

Pictures

http://www.unitedhealthdirectory.com/diseases-and-conditions/iron-

deficiency-anemia/

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OwoEg7Db_AE/TTH9Linj6LI/AAAAA

AAABjY/VNw-

1k_61AI/s1600/hypochromic%2Biron%2Bdeficiency%2Banemia.png

http://www.beltina.org/pics/blood_transfusion.jpg

http://www.anemia.org/images/anemia/pill-bottle-grouping.jpg