Effect of Ethanol on Iron Tolerance and Endogenous Serum Iron in Liver Cirrhosis

In normal subjects the average serum iron curve after oral load with a ferrous preparation was not significantly affected by oral administration of ethanol, whereas in patients with cirrhosis of the liver a significant elevation of the curve was observed after ethanol. Since ethanol affected neither the level of endogenous serum iron nor the serum clearance of exogenous iron, the elevation of the curve after ethanol was ascribed to increased iron absorption. This would indicate that ethanol does potentiate the increased iron absorption found in liver cirrhosis. The elevated curve could be normalized by oral administration of pancreatin and lowered by intravenous administration of pancreozymin.