On Therapy of Anemia of Old Age with Special Attention to Effect of Adenosin Triphosphate on Iron Metabolism

Abstract

1) Sitteen patients of anemia of old age, who had been orally given iron in therapy for iron-deficiency anemia but made little progress towards recovery, were subjected to an additional administration of a combination of 60-120mg of ATP and 1, 000mg of vitamin C. As a result, fourteen patients showed a rise of serum iron level accompanied by increases in hemoglobin value and red cell count.
2) Normal rabbits were intramuscularly injected with 100mg of ATP in combination with 50mg of vitamin C. Then, by using Fe⁵⁹, relative radioactivities of such organs as liver, spleen, bone marrow and kidney were measured, and an outstanding radioactivity was observed in liver. In addition, the measurement of organic iron in individual organs indicated an increase in organic iron in liver and spleen, and rom the histological viewpoint the precipitation of hemosiderin was noticed in liver and spleen. At the same time, a decrease in serum iron was also noticed. The above findings have led the writers to the assumption that the administration of ATP and vitamin C promoted the iron metabolism.