(HOME) Subject: stroke/iron

   
Iron levels linked to stroke damage

   April 25, 2000
   Reuters
   
          NEW YORK, Apr 24 (Reuters Health) - People with high levels of
   iron in their bodies may be at higher risk for severe damage to the
   brain after a stroke, according to study results released Monday.
   
          People at high risk of having a stroke who have high iron
   levels might benefit from cutting back on iron in the diet, according
   to the study's lead author, Dr. Antoni Davalos.
   
          An ischemic stroke -- the most common type of stroke -- is
   caused by a disruption in blood flow to the brain, often due to a
   blocked artery in the neck or head.
   
          Some research has linked iron levels to the severity of stroke
   damage, so Davalos, of the Hospital Universitari Doctor Josep Trueta
   in Girona, Spain, and colleagues measured levels of ferritin (which
   indicates the total amount of iron in the body) in the spinal fluid
   and blood of 100 stroke patients. The investigators divided the
   patients into two groups -- those whose condition remained stable or
   began to improve after the stroke, and those whose condition
   progressively worsened.
   
          Compared with people whose condition stabilized or improved,
   those with progressive damage had significantly higher levels of
   ferritin, the authors report in the April 25th issue of Neurology, the
   journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
   
          Davalos and colleagues suspect that increased iron levels lead
   to greater brain damage by increasing the formation of molecules
   called free radicals, which can damage cells. In addition, high levels
   of iron can promote the release of glutamate, a brain chemical
   involved in the death of brain cells. In the study, glutamate levels
   were highest in people with progressing stroke.
   
          "Our findings support future therapeutic studies of agents
   which inhibit iron's toxic effects on brain cells immediately after
   stroke," Davalos said in a statement. Studies should also be conducted
   to see whether lowering iron levels in people at risk for stroke who
   have high ferritin levels might help prevent stroke, he noted.
   
   SOURCE: Neurology 2000;54:1568-1574.
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