Hepcidin is not a marker of chronic inflammation in atherosclerosis
1Department of Internal Medicine, Göztepe Education and Research Hospital, İstanbul
2Department of Internal Medicine, Göztepe Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
3Pakize Tarzı Laboratory, İstanbul, Turkey
Anatol J Cardiol 2006; 3(6): 239-242 PubMed ID: 16943108
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Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between atherosclerosis, an inflammatory disease and hepcidin which is reported as an indi- cator of inflammation Materials and Methods: A total of 75 subjects between 40 and 70 years of age were included in the study. The patient group consisted of 40 stable pa- tients who had previously experienced an atherosclerotic event (18 women, 22 men; mean age 56.4±7.1 years). There were two control groups. The first control group consisted of 19 healthy subjects (11 women, 8 men; mean age 52.6± 7.4 years), while the second group inc- luded 16 patients (11 women, 5 men; mean age 56.5±9.3 years) with rheumatoid arthritis and anemia (diseased control group). Hepcidin measurement was performed using Hepcidin Prohormone ELISA (Solid Phase Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) test kit. Results: Mean serum hepcidin levels were 243.2±48.8 ng/ml, 374.5±86.4 ng/ml, and 234±59.9 ng/ml in the patient group, in diseased cont- rols, and in healthy controls, respectively. Hepcidin levels were higher in diseased controls compared to the patient group and healthy controls (p=0.001). There were no significant differences between the patient group and healthy controls. Conclusion: These findings did not support the hypothesis that hepcidin levels could be increased in atherosclerotic cardiovascular di- seases as a marker of chronic inflammation.