Iron Deficiency Syndrome

Dr. Mari Golub gave a talk on how behavior is affected by iron deficiencies in the third trimester. The focus was looking at the hemo globin index, which is an iron protein that transports oxygen. Iron deficiencies are most common in children of preschool age and pregnant women. Golub explained a double-blind study done in 1993 by Ernesto Pollitt that studied if the effects on behavior by iron deficient could be reversed. There was three groups: anemic, iron deficient, and iron sufficient. They used the Bayley scale to test mental and motor skills. The initial iron sufficient subjects scored higher than the iron deficient. After recovery the anemic group improved to the same scores as the sufficient and deficient in mental and motor skills.
Two of the questions asked in Dr. Golub’s study was: Is later behavior/ Brain function affected by iron deficiency? And are changes in behavior only due to anemia or do …show more content…
Similar to Ernesto Pollitt’s study, Dr. Golub had three groups: iron sufficient mom and child, a 3rd trimester iron deficient and anemic mom whose child was fed an iron sufficient diet, and an iron sufficient mom whose child was deprived of iron. They tested motor behavior, sensory processing, social and cognitive skills of the monkey’s offspring They then developed 3 hypotheses about iron affecting dopamine (iron dependent enzyme), myelin (glial have a high need for iron), and hippocampal development. They conducted some brain and behavior assays and an impulsivity test and found that their dopamine hypothesis was not supported. Hippocampal development wasn’t brought up again because there wasn’t an actually hypothesis for it. They then found out that they did not replicate their previous study, so instead they looked for covariates. They checked polymorphism to see if there was any correlation with iron deficiency. They found an iron deficiency response with the MAOA