Disorders of iron metabolism

There are many biochemical tools available to assess the state of iron metabolism, but the diagnosis of iron pathology remains problem atic. As molecular mechanisms responsible for iron uptake, transport, storage, and utilization become more precisely defined, efforts to exploit this new knowledge for diagnosis and therapy have begun to enter pediatric practice environments. This chapter will review the current under standing of iron (patho)physiology, current tools for biochemical assessment of iron status, and future prospects for the molecular manipulation of pathologic iron metabolism and storage.