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Brain changes in iron loading disorders

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Metal Ions in Neurological Systems

Abstract

Abnormal iron accumulation within the brain is associated with various neurodegenerative diseases; however, there is debate about whether milder disorders of systemic iron loading, such as haemochromatosis, affect the brain. Arguments on both sides of the debate are often based on some common assumptions that have not been rigorously tested by appropriate experimentation. Recent research from our lab has applied high-throughput molecular techniques such as microarray to models of dietary and genetic iron loading to identify subtle but important effects on molecular systems in the brain that may go undetected by other methods commonly used in the field. In this chapter, we review the existing research in animal models and human patients and discuss the strengths and limitations of the different approaches commonly used. Using our findings as an example, we argue that transcriptomic methods can provide unique insights into how systemic iron loading can affect the brain and suggest some basic guidelines for extracting the most robust and reliable information from microarray studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy MSB, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia

    Elizabeth Milward

  2. School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy MSB, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia

    Bulent Acikyol, Brianna Bassett, Evan Williams & Daniel Johnstone

  3. School of Biomedical Sciences, Curtin University of Technology, Bentley, WA, Australia

    Ross Graham

  4. School of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Western Australia, Fremantle, WA, Australia

    Roheeth Delima & Deborah Trinder

  5. Department of Gastroenterology, Fremantle Hospital, Fremantle, WA, Australia

    John Olynyk

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  1. Elizabeth Milward
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  2. Bulent Acikyol
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  3. Brianna Bassett
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  4. Evan Williams
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  5. Ross Graham
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  6. Roheeth Delima
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  7. Deborah Trinder
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  8. John Olynyk
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  9. Daniel Johnstone
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Milward .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9, Vienna, 1060, Austria

    Wolfgang Linert

  2. Faculty of Chemistry, University of Wroclaw, ul. Fryderyka Joliot Curie 14, Wroclaw, 50-383, Poland

    Henryk Kozlowski

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Milward, E. et al. (2012). Brain changes in iron loading disorders. In: Linert, W., Kozlowski, H. (eds) Metal Ions in Neurological Systems. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1001-0_2

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