Iron Overload and Serum and Saliva Ferritin Levels in Individuals with Beta Thalassemia Needing Several Blood Transfusions
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.5195/d3000.2025.920Mots-clés :
Ferritin, Serum, Saliva, Iron Overload, β-Thalassemia Major, Perl's Prussian Blue Staining, Exfoliative CytologyRésumé
Iron overload in individuals with beta thalassemia major is mostly caused by blood transfusion treatment. Since the human body lacks a method for excreting extra iron, iron overload is unavoidable in individuals with thalassemia major who require regular blood transfusions. Because exfoliative cytology is a rapid, easy, painless, and bloodless treatment, it is an attractive assessment. The main intracellular iron-storage protein, ferritin, is released in minute amounts into the body's plasma and helps to maintain iron in a soluble, non-toxic state. In the absence of inflammation, the amount of the body's total iron reserves is positively correlated with the concentration of this plasma (or serum) ferritin. When compared to blood, saliva offers major biochemical and logistical benefits, making it one of the most essential bodily fluids for diagnostic purposes. The diseases associated with iron overload are attributed to the significant increase in ferritin levels in saliva. The objectives of the study were as follows: 1. To measure the levels of iron overload in patients with beta-thalassemia major using oral exfoliative cytology with the special Perl's Prussian blue stain. 2. ELISA was used to measure the ferritin level (iron overload) in the serum and saliva of individuals with beta thalassemia major. 3. To compare the amounts of ferritin in their serum and saliva with the Prussian blue staining positivity of each individual. Smears were extracted from the buccal mucosa of thirty healthy people in the same age range (6-26 years) and sixty β-thalassemia major patients who had received at least ten transfusions. Prussian blue stain kit from Perl was used to stain smears. To estimate ferritin levels, blood and saliva samples were simultaneously obtained from the control and study group. Positivity of Prussian blue was evaluated using predetermined grading standards. 48 out of 60 thalassemic patients (80%) had Perl's positivity, which was positively correlated with ferritin levels in the saliva and serum. Patients with β-thalassemia major can have their iron overload evaluated using coloring peeled cells from the oral mucosa.
Téléchargements
Publié-e
Numéro
Rubrique
Licence
(c) Tous droits réservés Anaam Mahdi Hadi, Layla Sabri Yas, Shaimaa A. Saeed, Ali G. Al-Dulimi 2025

Cette œuvre est sous licence Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
Revised 7/16/2018. Revision Description: Removed outdated link.