Iron: What gets it down?

[mike716]

Okay, I'm probably posting too much. So I'll ease up after this one. But I've seen some suggestions by forum members about how to get down iron levels, and I thought it would be a nice idea if everyone who knew of some way to do it posted it so that we'd have a list of them. I'm into organizing things. I know it's annoying but I can't help it, it's a mania of mine.

Like, I saw a post from MerryBe about a drug named desferal or something that reduces iron and maybe could even replace plebotomy. She also mentioned that black tea binds iron. I didn't know either of these things. I've got high iron and i want to get it down, if possible before starting therapy.

There's this webpage I read (http://lefcms.lef.org/protocols/infections/hepatitis_c_01.htm) that says: " Despite substantial scientific evidence, however, few physicians implement iron-depletion therapy before beginning antiviral therapy. This partially accounts for the high failure rate of conventional drugs in eradicating the virus (Boucher E et al 1997; Martin-Vivaldi R et al 1997; Tsai NC et al 1997). So it seems like it might be important for me to start doing something now rather than later about my high iron, but I don't really know what to do. I mean, there's lactoferrin and IP6/Inositol as supplements, but there are also probably a lot of other things that reduce iron. I'd really like to know what they all are so I could decide what to take.

Maybe others would benefit from the same info.

So, if I'm not making too much of a pain in the a$$ of myself, could I twist everyone's arm who knows something about this to post it here?

Thanks!

Mike

[mikesimon]

Are they in it for the money? Yes, you bet they are! But who isn't these days? Do I trust their science? No, but I like a different brand of yogurt too. And, I don't take colloidal silver either. Mike

[Trish77]

From:  http://www.lef.org/protocols/infections/hepatitis_c_01.htm

An incredibly comprehensive article dealing with Hep C, what it does to the body, what natural supplements to take to counter those effects and what the risks are for each supplement.  I don't know how this Life Foundation is but I found the article impressive.  So a caveat...I don't know if these guys are on the money..posting the following for people to think for themselves on.

"Serum ferritin is a measure of the amount of stored iron and is used to guide therapy. A serum ferritin value between 30 and 80 ng/dL is optimal. Many hepatitis C patients have serum ferritin values in excess of 300 ng/dL."

  "Reducing Iron Stores
Elevated serum iron levels are often found in people with hepatitis C and cause further oxidative damage to the liver. Certain nutritional supplements have shown evidence of reducing serum iron levels. To help keep serum iron levels in the low normal range of 30 to 80 ng/dL, high doses of green tea polyphenols and high-allicin garlic may be beneficial.

Lactoferrin, a subfraction of whey protein, may be especially beneficial as an adjunctive treatment for serum iron overload in hepatitis patients. Lactoferrin is a potent antioxidant, antiviral agent, and scavenger of free iron. In addition, lactoferrin is directly involved in the upregulation of natural killer cell activity, making it a natural modulator of immune function (Yi M et al 1997; Ikeda M et al 1998, 2000). As an immune booster, lactoferrin has been shown to work synergistically with interferon to reduce the viral load (Ishii K et al 2003).

Taking 300 mg of elemental calcium can reduce iron absorption by as much as 50 percent. When eating iron-rich foods, hepatitis C patients should consider taking a high-potency calcium supplement at the same time (Hallberg L et al 1991)."

[mike716]

Thanks for the info and analisis, hon. I'm gonna have to make an independent decision about reducing iron, as my doc here won't discuss it and probably knows nothing about it :¬[

For the moment, I'm trying to stick to dietary control, but I may have to go the chelator route if this doesn't work. I don't think going into tx with 300 is a good idea. Not from what I've been reading.

It's too bad there isn't more interest in these sorts of topics in the research community. It's so darned hard to get any real up-to-date information.

M.

[alagirl]

Here's a link to an old study (1995) where they did use desferal to reduce iron prior to treatment.  They only reduced to under 250, considering that low enough in serum iron terms, so again, I guess I'd look at the recent studies you find, take them to your hepetologist, and see what he thinks.  My own feeling is that 300 would be ok but you should talk to your doc of course. There is at least one new chelation drug now that is easier on the body (not sure what its called but your doctor would know).  

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2893.1996.tb00003.x

[alagirl]

Here's an article I found done in 2004.


BACKGROUND/AIMS: Iron overload is common among patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). In this study the role of hepatic iron concentration (HIC) and serum iron parameters was assessed to determine response to standard and pegylated interferon (IFN)/ribavirin combination therapy in patients with CHC. METHODS: Liver biopsies were obtained from 169 IFN-naïve patients (m=115, f=54, age: 40.8+/-10.7) with CHC. 140 patients were treated with standard IFN/ribavirin, 29 patients with pegylated-IFN/ribavirin. Biopsy specimens were evaluated according to the DiBisceglie scoring system and iron grading. HIC was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Ferritin and transferrin saturation and presence of HFE-C282Y and H63D gene mutations were determined at baseline. RESULTS: Nonresponders to combination therapy had higher serum ferritin levels at baseline (p<0.01). There was no difference of HIC, transferrin saturation levels, and the HFE-mutation status between responders and nonresponders. Logistic regression analysis revealed serum ferritin as an independent predictor of response. HIC correlated with the DiBisceglie score (r=0.352, p<0.001), iron grading (r=0.352, p<0.001) and serum ferritin (r=0.335, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment liver iron concentration does not predict response to combination therapy in patients with CHC. In contrast, high baseline serum ferritin levels are predictors of poor response to antiviral therapy.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15158344?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed

[Magnum]

According to the Hepatologist Dr. Gish, the eating of iron supplying cereals and vegetables is not a big deal. The big deal, is taking iron as a supplement. One-A-Day vitamins makes an adult vitamin with NO iron. My iron has also gone up in the past two blood works.

Interestingly, he said he doesn't look at that as an indicator, but rather the results of the last biopsy (2005) which showed normal iron levels. Oh, and by the way, I believe this is the longest thread since I've been a member her for several years...

Magnum