[EPR study of iron status in human body during intensive physical activity]

The iron metabolism was studied in serum blood samples collected from 26 professional sportsmen undergoing intensive physical exercises using EPR combined with haematological and biochemical laboratory tests. Only 23% of EPR spectra (n = 6) were practically normal while in the rest spectra additional abnormal absorption lines were detected. Presumably, the significant portion of new signals may be caused by different cytochromes. Moreover, the anisotropic signals with g1 approximately equal to 2.02; g2 approximately equal to 1.94 and g3 approximately equal to 1.86 registered in some spectra pointed to the sulfur-iron centers. There was nearly linear correlation between the concentration of Fe3+ in transfferin (Fe(3+)-Tf) obtained from the EPR spectra and the serum iron concentration measured by absorption photometry both for sportsmen and controls (healthy individuals and patients with different diseases). At equal serum iron concentrations the Fe(3+)-Tf level was higher in sportsmen than that in controls. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) for Fe(3+)-Tf and serum iron values was equal to 0.89 in sportsmen versus r = 0.97 in controls. Additional new lines in serum EPR spectra of professional sportsmen prove the suitability of EPR assay for scheduled medical exams since routinebiochemical and haematological tests are insufficient to discover all abnormalities in iron metabolism under intensive physical exercises.