Radioiron Citrate as Tracer to Determine Disappearance Rate of Plasma Iron in Normal Subjects. ∗

Abstract

Conclusions

Radioferric citrate, administered intravenously to patients without primary disorder of hematopoiesis, disappears from the plasma at a rate similar to that of the disappearance of globulin-bound radio-iron. It is probable that the iron is rapidly incorporated into the iron binding globulin of the plasma (IV-7 fraction, Cohn), and the disappearance rate obtained following the injection of ferric citrate is actually that of the disappearance of protein bound iron. The use of ferric citrate as a tracer for iron turnover studies is a simplification which permits the more routine availability of these studies in a clinical practice.