NeuroTalk Support Groups - Ferritin Levels and Tourette Syndrome

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- - Ferritin Levels and Tourette Syndrome (https://www.neurotalk.org/tourette-syndrome/1112-ferritin-levels-tourette-syndrome.html)

Thank you! 300 mg sounded like an awful lot but I am relieved that it is not a high dose! Thank you Chemar for your links - I found another site with lots of your helpful tips - I was up until 3 am reading as much as I could! I avoided medication for my own tics as the side effects seemed scarier than the tics themselves! Of course, by the time I found out I had TS - I was in my late teens and my tics had diminished a fair bit. What's most frustrating, is that now that I am nearly 40 my tics had almost disappeared...that is until my daughter started severely ticcing. Now I find my motor tics have returned a bit so I will also try some of your natural remedies. The epsom salt bath intrigues me and I will visit some vitamin stores to see if they carry some of the combinations you suggested. I am having a difficult time getting my daughter to swallow her iron pill whole so I am hoping I can find some sort of calcium/magnesium/zinc formula that comes powdered. It is wonderful finding this awesome resource. Thank you for your dedication and community-minded sharing!

I'm a little confused with this iron issue again. Sorry... Trying to figure something out.

Can someone explain to me again the difference between ferritin levels and serum iron levels...

If a doctor was testing for anaemia would they test both ferritin levels and serum iron levels?

and

I thought there was a difference between having an iron deficiency/anaemia and having problems with the actual transport system in the body which usually sends our stored iron to specific areas of the brain?

Stored iron is ferritin... right?

Ferritin levels seem to be a bit of a hot topic at present with regard to RLS, TS and some other conditions so I thought I'd revisit an old topic here to answer my own questions just so it's on the board. :)

http://www.chemistry.wustl.edu/~edud.../Ferritin.html

Iron Use and Storage in the Body:
Ferritin and Molecular Representations
Iron in Biology: Study of the Iron Content in Ferritin, The Iron-Storage Protein.

Quote:

Ferritin: The Iron-Storage Protein

How does the body regulate the amount of iron? Fortunately, most of us are able to maintain appropriate levels of available iron in the body (enough available iron to ensure an adequate supply of hemoglobin, but not so much as to produce toxic effects), even if our iron consumption does not always exactly match the body's iron loss. Ferritin (Figure 1) is the key to this important control of the amount of iron available to the body. Ferritin is a protein that stores iron and releases it in a controlled fashion. Hence, the body has a "buffer" against iron deficiency (if the blood has too little iron, ferritin can release more) and, to a lesser extent, iron overload (if the blood and tissues of the body have too much iron, ferritin can help to store the excess iron).

How does ferritin store iron? Ferritin has the shape of a hollow sphere. Inside the sphere, iron is stored in the Fe(III) oxidation state. It is incorporated in the mineral ferrihydrite, [FeO(OH)]8[FeO(H2PO4)], which is attached to the inner wall of the sphere. To release iron when the body needs it, the iron must be changed from the Fe(III) to the Fe(II) oxidation state. Then, the iron leaves through channels in the spherical structure. Thus, the structure of ferritin is extremely important for the protein's ability to store and release iron in a controlled fashion. In order to understand how ferritin helps to maintain the correct amount of available iron in the body, we must study the protein's structure in detail.

Just bumping this really old thread up for my own reference. Hope that's alright.

I also think the first link is outdated Chemar.
Not sure I have the right one but I think the url is now

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/arti...&resultClick=3
Article | July 01, 2006
Ferritin Levels and Their Association With Regional Brain Volumes in Tourette’s Syndrome
Daniel A. Gorman, M.D.; Hongtu Zhu, Ph.D.; George M. Anderson, Ph.D.; Mark Davies, M.P.H.; Bradley S. Peterson, M.D.
Am J Psychiatry 2006;163:1264-1272.

edited to add: more here ...
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post1041370-86.html

I've had tourettes\ocd since I was about 10. I'm 36 now. I found out about a year and a half ago my ferritin was sky high. I have hemachromatosis. So in my case the tics and ocd aren't related to ferritin.