INDUCTION OF DIETARY IRON-DEFICIENCY IN RHESUS-MONKEYS - SEQUENTIAL-CHANGES IN SERUM FERRITIN AND OTHER BIOCHEMICAL INDICATORS OF IRON STATUS

The usefulness of serum ferritin as a measure of subclinical stages of iron deficiency has been tested in monkeys by inducing a mild iron de ficiency dietarily over a period of 12 months. The usefulness of serum ferritin as a measure of subclinical Various biochemical indicators o f iron status were measured periodically along with analysis of liver iron and iron staining of bone marrow samples obtained by biopsy, at t he end of the experiment. A mild form of iron deficiency was confirmed by bone marrow staining for iron. Of all the biochemical indicators t ested, significant decreases were seen in hemoglobin and hematocrit at the 11th and 10th months, respectively. These changes were consistent with the changes later found in bone marrow grading for iron. Serum f erritin concentration and liver iron concentration did not show any si gnificant difference between the controls and iron-deficient monkeys. Thus, these results do not support the existence of a latent stage of iron deficiency. In the mild form of iron deficiency, the functional c ompartment, represented by bane marrow iron and hemoglobin, is sensiti ve to depletion even when there were no changes in storage compartment represented by liver iron and serum ferritin.