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>>iron therapy and elevated serum ferritin levels may cause an increase
in the incidence of atherosclerosis<<

Int Heart J. 2005;46(2):255-64. Related Articles, Links


Intravenous Iron Therapy as a Possible Risk Factor for Atherosclerosis
in End-stage Renal Disease.

Reis KA, Guz G, Ozdemir H, Erten Y, Atalay V, Bicik Z, Ozkurt ZN, Bali
M, Sindel S.

Depertment of Nephrology, Gazi University.

Atherosclerosis is a disease of the arterial wall, with increasing wall
thickness representing an early event in the progression of the
disease. It has been suggested that iron overload, as ***essed by
increased serum ferritin concentration, may be a risk factor for
atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the
relationship between the influence of intravenous (IV) iron therapy and
ferritin levels and carotid intima media thickness (C-IMT) in dialysis
patients. Sixty patients (51 +/- 14) years were divided into two groups
according to their IMT obtained by ultrasound; group I (high risk) and
group II (low risk). The parameters ***essed were serum creatinine,
urea, calcium, phosphorus, hemoglobin, albumin, uric acid, iron,
ferritin, and lipid levels. Thirty-eight patients (88%) in group I and
5 patients (12%) in group II received IV iron therapy while 5 patients
(29%) in group I and 12 patients (71%) in group II (P < 0.001) did not
receive IV iron therapy. Ferritin levels were higher in group I than in
group II (581 +/- 303 and 306 +/- 224) (P < 0.001). C-IMT measurements
correlated with serum ferritin and with the intravenous iron dose
received during the 24 months preceding the study (r = 0.315, P =
0.015; r = 0.471, P = 0.001). The findings indicate that IV iron
therapy and elevated serum ferritin levels may cause an increase in the
incidence of atherosclerosis.

PMID: 15876809 [PubMed - in process]

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