Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Treatment of anemia in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), a problem of public health proportions, involves utilization of invasive and costly treatment options.Moreover, recent clinical trials have revealed several complications arising from the use of erythropoiesis stimulating agents in the treatment of anemia of CKD.There is an unmet need for safer, cheaper and effective treatment options for anemia of CKD.Hepcidin, the master regulator of iron trafficking in the body, is known to be elevated in CKD.Since hepcidin effectively blocks iron absorption from the gut and iron release from the cells of the reticuloendothelial system, elevated hepcidin levels lead to a state of iron restricted erythropoiesis.Therefore, as shown in experimental data and animal studies, correcting hepcidin levels can potentially ameliorate anemia of CKD.Among several known factors contributing to elevated hepcidin levels in CKD, vitamin D deficiency has recently emerged as an independent risk factor.Recent studies have shown that vitamin D can lower hepcidin levels by directly inhibiting hepcidin gene transcription at the nuclear level in the hepatocytes.Since vitamin D treatment is known to be safe and cost effective, it can prove to be an ideal agent to target elevated hepcidin levels thereby correcting the central mechanism that leads to development of anemia in CKD.
DOI: 10.36876/smjnt.1001
Author: Bhupesh Panwar
Institution: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2990591412