EVALUATION OF THE ROLE OF HEPCIDIN IN PREDICTING THE THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF ERYTHROPOIESIS-STIMULATING AGENT TREATMENT IN PATIENTS OF CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE

Abstract

Background: Chronic kidney disease is associated with increase serum hepcidin level which contributes to severity of anemia and to resistance of erythropoiesis stimulating agents and dysregulation of iron hemostasis. Serum hepcidin correlates positively with ferritin in patients on hemodialysis. Subjects and Methods: fifty patients of end stage renal disease(ESRD) on regular hemodialysis and on erythropoietin therapy, twenty seven males, twenty three females and twenty subjects as control. Group matched for age, gender were clinically assessed and laboratory investigations were done in the form of serum urea, creatinine, iron profile (serum iron, ferritin, total iron binding capacity), serum erythropoietin, serum hepcidin, and hemoglobin. Results: There is significant negative correlation between hepcidin and hemoglobin, iron, total iron binding capacity and erythropoietin (P<0.01) and positive significant correlation between serum hepcidin and serum ferritin (P<0.05) in both male and female groups. Hepcidin and serum ferritin are higher in patients groups than control but erythropoietin is lower in patients groups than control with statistical significance (P<0.01).
Key words: Hepcidin, erythropoietin, chronic renal failure