I really ought to finish these damn Transferrin Saturation paper notes but I'm struggling with the line-by-line horror stories of how fucked up it is.
Like phew I don't even know what's worse:
• Transferrin Saturation as an indicator of Hepcidin production (oop)
• >50% Transferrin Saturation exposure associated with joint symptoms
• High Transferrin Saturation (>50%) also associated with the appearance of NTBI (Non-transferrin bound iron), which is likely linked to things like *organ damage*
• Therapeutic Phlebotomy treatment linked to an INCREASED iron absorption after procedures because (somehow. I haven't found exactly HOW yet) it decreases Hepcidin production.
It's such a fucking hot mess like what do we even DO with this information??? There's no hepcidin synthetics from a few (admittedly quick) googles (I *did* check the clinical trials website and nothing of interest/help). The paper in question talks about how a Melbourne study suggests that it may be more beneficial to *NOT* treat mild cases of iron overload. Which I find wild because the same paper also points out that a low ferritin does not mean you have a low transferrin saturation, and it's exposure to a high TS% over a long period of time that seems to be associated with worsening symptoms (particularly joint pain, ability to do work, athletic ability, and libido).
From my brief googles, there's no easy lab tests for Hepcidin. There's no easy lab tests for NTBI. These are things that could be doing who-knows-what and we can't even tell.
Add to it the whole Estradiol/Hepcidin link and it just all is an absolutely hot mess and do not like the implications of where this leads nor the fact that it seems very few people in research world have looked at this. (I'm not surprised. I'm not fucking surprised. They love to run with the myth that women with haemochromatosis are protected by their periods. In the words of a specialist I absolutely loathed, "you're self medicating with periods". Yeah. Sure. Tell that to my 18 year old self. Tell that to anyone who either knowingly or unknowingly is taking a Contraceptive Pill that has iron tablets instead of sugar placebos. [Because I only just found out THAT is a thing. I was always so worried about what's in the hormone tablets, but this was a whole new level of 'wot'].)
I'm rambling because I keep stopping every couple of sentences. This paper goes hard. Sure it's not perfect and there's a lot of unanswered questions too but there's plenty of food for thought and ooooh boy I'm sorry Dr Haemotologist Sir, it's gonna be one hell of an introduction session.
