LABILE PLASMA IRON ASSAY IN THALASSEMIA - A REVIEW OF LITERATURE
*Dr. Preeti Tripathi, Dr. Akriti Kashyap, Dr. Arijit Sen, Dr. H.P. Pati and Dr. Ankur Ahuja
ABSTRACT
Blood transfusion and iron overload are unavoidable issues in thalassemia. There is always a quest for a better and
sensitive test for iron overload which can detect tissue iron overload efficiently and earlier than available markers.
Labile plasma iron assay (LPI) which measures the non transferrin bound iron (NTBI) component of plasma is a
potentially intuitive marker as it directly reflects tissue iron overload which is the cause of mortality in such cases.
Present in research setting for almost a decade, the test is yet to be widely adopted by clinicians in routine patients
setting. The limited availability, standardization and inherent limitations could be the possible causes. However, the
assay appears promising and in future it may serve to monitor the trend of tissue iron overload during long-term
follow up where it may be better than ferritin levels.
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