Results of prolonged intravenous administration of iron to normal and anemic rabbits

• Main Author: Chang, Hwei-Ya
• Language: en_US
• Published: Boston University 2017
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/20990

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University === The increasing incidence of transfusional hemochromatosis after repeated blood transfusions in anemic patients and the similarity of certain morphological changes between the transfusional and idiopathic hemochromatosis have suggested that the excessive storage of iron after transfusions might be the chief etiological factor of idiopathic hemochromatosis. However, the experimental evidence supporting such a possibility is still lacking. The purpose of this investigation has been to study the late morphological changes of organs of non-anemic and anemic rabbits after prolonged intravenous administration of saccharated iron oxide and to see whether prolonged administration of large amount of the iron will result in hemochromatosis. A total of 103 young male rabbits and 9 young female rabbits weighing 3.5 to 5.0 kg., kept in individual cages and all fed with ordinary rabbit pellets, carrots, green vegetables and water ad libitum, were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 58 non-anemic rabbits, 16 used as controls receiving no treatment and 42 treated with repeated intravenous injections of saccharated iron oxide (Feojectin-Smith, Kline and French Laboratories) with dosages gradually increasing from 20 to 20 mg. at intervals from 2 days to 2 months for a total period of 4 days to 14 months. The total dosages ranged from 45 to 4100 mg. of elemental iron per rabbit. The longer intervals of injections occurred in rabbits showing phlebothrombosis of the superficial veins that took time to recover so as to become available again for further injections. The second group consisted of 54 anemic rabbits rendered anemic by repeated bleeding from ear veins with hemoglobin maintained below 6.0 gm. per 100 c.c. Seventeen of them were used for controls and 37 were injected with iron in a manner similar to that of the non-anemic rabbits for a period from 4 days to 12 months, with a total corrected dosage of iron varying from 25 to 4040 mg. The dosage was corrected for the iron lost through bleeding by subtraction of 50 mg. of iron for each 100cc. of blood lost. The tissues of variousorgans of bothgroups were fixed in 10 per cent neutral formalin and then sectioned and prepared for microscopic examination with hemotoxylin and eosin stain and iron stain and aniline blue stains for liver in selected cases. The urines of rabbits having received a total of more than 3000 mg. of elemental iron and of the compatible controls were tested for sugar (Benedict qualitative method) and their bloods checked for level of glucose (modified Folin-Wu method). [TRUNCATED]