What is ferritin

Ferritin is one of the proteins which can normally be found in most living organisms, even algae and bacteria. The main purpose of ferritin is to bind all the iron in the body so that it can be stored in the body for further use. Ferritin is also very efficient in regulating the levels of iron, preventing iron deficiency and eliminating the risk of iron overdose.

Many people have heard about the ferritin blood test, but not many of them know what it actually is. This test is intended to check the levels of iron in the patient’s body and of course to check the functioning of iron in the body and its effect on the patient’s overall health. The first step of the test measures the levels of iron present in the body of the patient. The next step checks if the patient suffers from the condition called iron deficiency anemia which occurs due to low levels of iron in the blood. During the test, a doctor can also check to see if there are any inflammatory conditions present in the body of the patient. The doctor needs to check if there is a presence of excess iron levels in the body of a patient, which is a condition medically referred to hemochromatosis. A Ferritin test is also used for the determination of efficacy of the medications commonly taken in order to control the levels of iron in the body.

The levels of ferritin in the human body are medically referred to as serum ferritin levels and are normally checked by using the aforementioned ferritin blood test. The results of the test can show if a person has low or high levels of ferritin in the blood. High levels of ferritin in the blood may be associated with toxicity or certain other serious medical conditions. Even though normal ferritin levels may fluctuate, the normal levels of ferritin in newborns are 25-200 nanograms per milliliter, in 1 month old babies they are 200-600 nanograms per milliliter, in 2-5 month old babies they are 50-200 nanograms per millimeter, in 6 month to 15 year old children they are 7-142 nanograms per milliliter, in women they are 18-160 nanograms per milliliter and in men they are 18-270 nanograms per milliliter. Low levels of ferritin may be caused by numerous different factors, and the same goes for high levels of ferritin as well.