Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P02794 (ferritin)
 17,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Recent evidence suggests that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (CHCV) who respond to interferon-alpha (IFN) therapy have a lower hepatic iron concentration than those who do not. The object of this study was to assess the concentration and distribution of iron in liver biopsies from 15 patients with CHCV seen at the authors' medical center between June 1992 and March 1993. Patients with complete response to IFN were compared to those with non-complete response with respect to quantitative hepatic iron concentration, serum iron indices, and a detailed analysis of histologic features of hematoxylin-and-eosin and iron-stained pre-IFN biopsies. Patients with non-complete response had significantly higher scores for stainable iron in sinusoidal cells (P = .02) and portal tracts (P = .05) than did patients with complete response. Total hepatic iron scores, mean quantitative hepatic iron, and mean serum ferritin were higher in patients with noncomplete response, but the differences were not significant. In conclusion, iron deposition in sinusoidal cells and portal tracts is significantly less frequent in patients with complete response to IFN than in those with poor or no response, and may be a useful, objective predictor of response to IFN therapy.
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PMID:Distribution of iron in the liver predicts the response of chronic hepatitis C infection to interferon therapy. 757 23

To date, there are no firm clinical, demographic, biochemical, serologic, or histologic features predicting which patients with chronic hepatitis C are more likely to respond to therapy with interferon-alpha. Serum iron, total iron-binding capacity, transferrin saturation, and ferritin were measured in the fasting state. The amount of stainable iron in liver biopsy specimens was evaluated histochemically as well. All patients received subcutaneous recombinant human IFN-alpha 2a three million units thrice weekly by self-administration. Eleven of 13 (84%) responders had low to normal serum iron levels as compared to one of 26 (4%) nonresponders (P < 0.001). The serum transferrin was similar in both groups, but iron saturation was significantly lower in responders (30 +/- 10%) than in nonresponders (53 +/- 12%) (P< 0.001). Serum ferritin and hepatic iron content were higher in nonresponders (NS). It is suggested that increased serum iron and transferrin saturation blunt the action of interferon, as they have opposite effects on the immune system. Iron overload can thus lead to a poor response to interferon. It remains to be seen whether reducing iron overload will improve the response to interferon therapy.
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PMID:Elevated serum iron predicts poor response to interferon treatment in patients with chronic HCV infection. 758 26

We describe here a patient with chronic hepatitis C and liver hemosiderosis whose serum ferritin level was notably reduced by long-term interferon-alpha (IFN alpha) therapy. The decrease of the elevated serum ferritin level was considered to have been mostly obtained by the improvement of liver dysfunction. However, at the beginning of the therapy, in spite of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) improvement, his serum ferritin level increased transiently, and after cessation of IFN alpha therapy, the serum ALT increased again, but the serum ferritin had not increased. This indicates that IFN alpha has an effect on the iron-related measurement, partly due to improvement of hepatic status.
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PMID:Decrease in serum ferritin level in a patient with HCV hepatitis and liver hemosiderosis by interferon-alpha. 776 77

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common in multi-transfused thalassaemic patients, and, in combination with transfusional iron overload, can result in progressive liver disease. Therapy with interferon-alpha causes a sustained loss of HCV in only 15-25% of patients, and there is as yet no established effective therapy for those who fail to respond. We have conducted a pilot study of combination anti-viral therapy for patients who failed to respond, or relapsed after an initial response to single-agent interferon-alpha. Patients were treated for 6 months with interferon-alpha 2b, given subcutaneously three mega units thrice weekly, together with ribavirin, orally 1 g daily. 11 patients were enrolled, their median age was 24.9 years. 8/10 evaluable patients had cirrhosis on biopsy, five were infected with HCV type 1 and all but one had initial HCV RNA titres > 10(6) genomes/ml. Five patients (45.5%) had a sustained virological response with loss of serum HCV RNA for > 6 months after finishing therapy. There was no clear association between response to therapy and age, histology, HCV genotype, or HCV RNA titre. Transfusion requirements were significantly increased during the treatment phase, probably due to ribavirin-induced haemolysis, and this necessitated intensification of iron chelation therapy. Serum ferritin levels decreased significantly in those who responded. These results suggest that combination therapy is potent in clearing HCV infection, and may provide effective second-line therapy for thalassaemic patients who have failed to respond to interferon-alpha monotherapy.
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PMID:Combination therapy with interferon alpha and ribavirin for chronic hepatitis C virus infection in thalassaemic patients. 932 77

Determination of serum iron levels in patients affected by chronic hepatitis C is considered fundamental for studying the response to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) treatment. IFN could induce anemia, which is promptly corrected by exogenous administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO). The aim of our study was to verify the possible beneficial effect of rHuEPO in patients affected by chronic hepatitis C and treated with IFN. Seventy consecutive patients (42 males and 28 females, mean age 46.4+/-5.2 years) affected by chronic hepatitis C were enrolled. In all patients, chronic hepatitis C was diagnosed on the basis of clinical and biological findings (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] serum levels at least 2-fold higher than normal values for at least 12 months and the presence of anti-HCV antibodies). All patients were negative for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, hepatitis D virus (HDV infection, and HIV infection. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Wilcoxon nonparametric sum rank test, the Spearman correlation rank test, and the Friedman ANOVA and Kendall coefficient of concordance. At the end of the treatment, our study series showed significant differences in serum levels of AST (p < 0.001), iron (p < 0.001), and ferritin (p < 0.001). At the end of the follow-up period, significant differences were seen in ALT, aspartate (AST), and iron ferritin and transferrin levels. All differences favored patients who received IFN-alpha and rHuEPO. We think that the depletion of circulating iron may improve the immune response impaired by iron accumulation in the liver. Our study confirms the important role played by iron in the response to IFN treatment, suggesting that the use of rHuEPO induces a better response to IFN in patients with chronic hepatitis C by activation of erythropoiesis.
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PMID:Efficacy of human recombinant erythropoietin plus IFN-alpha in patients affected by chronic hepatitis C. 1562 56