BACKGROUND Recently it has been found that iron is an important element in the natural history of hepatitis C. Serum markers of iron stores are frequently increased in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected carriers but the real impact of the hepatic iron overload is poorly understood. The purpose of the present paper was to determine the prevalence of iron overload and to study the relations...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is poorly understood. Hepatic iron and copper overload can directly cause lipid peroxidation and eventually hepatic damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of hepatic iron and copper accumulation in the development of NASH. METHODS Fifty-three patients with NASH were studied. All patients underwent live...

Hepatic expression of iron homeostasis genes and serum iron parameters predict the success of immunosuppression withdrawal following clinical liver transplantation, a phenomenon known as spontaneous operational tolerance. In experimental animal models, spontaneous liver allograft tolerance is established through a process that requires intra-hepatic lymphocyte activation and deletion. Our aim w...

Abstract Background: Iron overload is a clinical consequence of repeated blood transfusions and causes significant organ damage, morbidity, and mortality in the absence of proper treatment. The primary targets of Iron chelators used for treating transfusional Iron overload are the prevention of Iron ingress into tissues and its intracellular scavenging. The present study was aimed at elucid...

PURPOSE To quantify the two principal forms of hepatic storage iron, diffuse, soluble iron (primarily ferritin), and aggregated, insoluble iron (primarily hemosiderin) using a new MRI method in patients with transfusional iron overload. MATERIALS AND METHODS Six healthy volunteers and 20 patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia syndromes and iron overload were examined. Ferritin- and h...

BACKGROUND Available iron chelation regimes in thalassaemia may achieve different changes in cardiac and hepatic iron as assessed by MR. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of four available iron chelator regimes in 232 thalassaemia major patients by assessing the rate of change in repeated measurements of cardiac and hepatic MR. RESULTS For the heart, deferiprone and the combina...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now the most common liver disease in the world. NAFLD can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma. Acquired hepatic iron overload is seen in a number of patients with NAFLD; however, its significance in the pathology of NAFLD is still debated. Here, we investigated the role of dietary iron sup...

The objective of the present study was to determine the presence of hepatic iron overload in patients with chronic HCV infection and to correlate it with histologic alterations, HCV genotype and response to therapy. Liver tissue samples from 95 patients with chronic hepatitis C were divided into two groups: group I, presence of iron overload in hepatic tissue (Perls' staining) and group II, no ...

Hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis are common findings in humans with hemochromatosis. In this study we investigated the molecular pathways of iron-induced hepatic fibrosis and evaluated the anti-fibrogenic effect of vitamin E. Male gerbils were treated with iron-dextran and fed a standard diet or a alpha-tocopherol enriched diet (250 mg/Kg diet). In gerbils on the standard diet at 6 wk after dosin...

Objective(s): Iron is an essential element for living organisms. Iron overload can have detrimental effects on health. This study pertains to the protective role of berberine against ferrous sulfate-induced hepatic and renal functional disorders and histological damages in rats.Materials and Methods: The rats were divided into four groups (n=7): Sham, Ber (10 mg/kg/day for 14 days, by gavage), ...