total body iron

Treatment is with phlebotomy to lower total body iron levels.

Doctors may also test for levels of ferritin (a protein that indicates the amount of total body iron stores).

Measurement of HIC has been established in the field as the reference method for assessing total body iron burden in thalassemia major, and therefore preferred for research purposes.

Under steady state conditions, the serum ferritin level correlates with total body iron stores; thus, the serum ferritin FR5Rl is the most convenient laboratory test to estimate iron stores.

In the future, the newer advanced magnetic-resonance techniques, which allow for the assessment of both liver and cardiac iron, might provide an even more accurate assessment of total body iron [ 5 ] .

Foods rich in tannins can be used in the treatment of HFE hereditary hemochromatosis, a hereditary disease characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron, resulting in a pathological increase in total body iron stores.