BIOCHEMICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL ASPECTS OF SIDEROPENIA

Although a 'lesion' in almost any of the iron-dependent metabolic pathways could provide a basis for the behavior changes attributed to iron deficiency, recent animal and human research has focussed on oxidative and neurotransmitter metabolism. The rate-limiting enzymes in the pathways of catecholamine (Tyrosine hydroxylase) and serotonin (tryptophan hydroxylase) synthesis are iron-dependent; monosamine oxidase, which catabolizes both compounds and aldehyde oxidase (final oxidation of 5-hydroxyindoleacetaldehyde to 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid) are also apparently iron-dependent. Studies have recently appeared (see below) describing the in vitro function of these enzymes in brain tissue of iron-deplete animals and suggesting a correlative of behavior with changes in brain chemistry.