Aspirin is being increasingly prescribed for cardiovascular protection, but is also recognized to have significant gastrointestinal side-effects. Whether chronic aspirin consumption causes iron deficiency is undetermined, and there is little information available regarding iron deficiency and aspirin use in old age. We studied the relationship between iron deficiency anaemia and regular aspirin...

Background < Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) occurs in 2e5% of adult men and postmenopausal women in the developed world and is a common cause of referral to gastroenterologists. Gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss from colonic cancer or gastric cancer, and malabsorption in coeliac disease are the most important causes that need to be sought. Defining iron deficiency anaemia < The lower limit of the...

Iron should not be prescribed to middle-aged men or older women with anaemia unless the possibility that the iron deficiency is caused by a gastrointestinal tumour has been considered. Thus the prescribing of iron to elderly people was investigated by studying four different prescription statistics and by reviewing records. Over one in 10 women aged over 65 were prescribed iron tablets. Men and...

Background: Pathogenesis of anaemia of chronic disease is multifactorial. It is related with corrupted erythropoietin-dependent erythropoiesis due to C-reactive protein, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. It is also related with decreased red cell survival and impaired iron mobilization. Hepcidin level in iron deficiency anaemia is low than co...

BACKGROUND Iron deficiency anaemia is one of the most important nutritional diseases, with high prevalence worldwide. The G277S transferrin mutation has been implicated as a risk factor for iron deficiency in menstruating women. However, the subject is controversial and there are no data concerning the possible influence of this polymorphism on iron absorption. AIM OF THE STUDY To undertake a...

Common causes of chronic upper gastrointestinal bleeding include oesophageal varices, gastroduodenal ulcers and malignancy, and patients mostly present with iron deficiency type anaemia. We present the case of a 60-year-old lady who presented with iron deficiency anaemia and on investigation was found to have a large duodenal polyp requiring surgical excision. On histological examination, the p...

In a study of the urinary excretion of haem precursors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, iron-deficiency anaemia, and in healthy controls, certain differences were found. In iron-deficiency anaemia the excretion of both porphobilinogen and delta-aminolevulinic acid was increased, whereas in patients with rheumatoid arthritis only the porphobilinogen excretion was increased.A further study ...

The histological features of the buccal mucosa have been examined in 50 cases of iron-deficiency anaemia, 14 cases of megaloblastic anaemia, and 50 normal subjects. Differences between the anaemic and normal groups have been found and in some anaemic patients striking morphological changes have been seen. These might be due to a direct effect of iron or vitamin B(12) deficiency on the metabolis...

Repeated surveys have shown that the magnitude of nutritional anaemia is of public health concern in India. Though reduced intake of iron is a major aetiological factor, low intake or an imbalance in the consumption of other haematopoietic nutrients, their utilization; increased nutrient loss and/or demand also contribute to nutritional anaemia. In India, cereals and millets form the bulk of th...

Iron deficiency anaemia secondary to gastrointestinal bleeding is very common in the elderly. Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) syndrome, also known as watermelon stomach is an uncommon but significant cause of acute or chronic gastrointestinal blood loss in the elderly. It is characterised endoscopically by "watermelon stripes." It is more common in females than males, and manifests mostl...