Liver Int. 2007 Mar;27(2):268-73.Effect of iron depletion on serum
markers of fibrogenesis, oxidative stress and serum liver enzymes in
chronic hepatitis C: results of a pilot study.
Alexander J, Tung BY, Croghan A, Kowdley KV.
Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University of
Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA.

Background: Hepatic iron deposition has been associated with decreased
response to interferon-alpha monotherapy, and has been speculated to
contribute to disease progression in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We
performed this study to evaluate the effect of iron depletion on
biochemical and virologic markers, and markers of lipid peroxidation
and fibrogenesis. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients with CHC
who did not have a virologic response to interferon monotherapy
underwent weekly phlebotomies until iron depletion (serum ferritin <50
ng/ml). Serum levels of alanine transaminase (ALT), hepatitis C virus-
RNA, transferrin saturation, ferritin, 8-isoprostane, hylauronic acid,
amino-terminal procollagen III peptide and YKL-40 were measured before
and after iron depletion. Results: There was a statistically
significant reduction of serum ALT, transferrin saturation and serum
ferritin after iron depletion (range 4-11 phlebotomies). Serum ALT
returned to normal after iron depletion in four (22%) patients. There
was a significant reduction in serum procollagen III peptide level
among patients who achieved biochemical response. No significant
reduction was noted in serum levels of other markers. Conclusions:
Iron depletion was associated with a biochemical response in 22% of
patients who did not respond to interferon monotherapy. There was a
significant reduction in a key marker of fibrogenesis among patients
with biochemical response. These data support longer-term studies of
iron depletion in CHC.

PMID: 17311623 [PubMed - in process]

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