If a person is going to use iron supplements, that person needs to ask the Hepatologist first. Many people with liver problems already have problems with iron metabolism and iron storage so a person does not want to add to an already existing problem.
Adding iron may help if the person is suffering from Iron Deficiency Anemia prior to treatment .If a person can correct Iron Deficiency Anemia prior to Tx, then the Iron Def. Anemia would not compound the Hemolytic Anemia caused by the drugs.
However, adding iron is not going to alter the course of Hemolytic anemia because the Hemolytic Anemia is not caused by iron deficiency. It is caused by the Hep C Tx drugs(Ribavirin) which 1) causes the destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis), 2) can down-regulate the number of erythropoietin receptors. Interferon can also contribute to the development of anemia by suppressing bone marrow production of erythrocytes, Finally, patients developing anemia during HCV therapy often have inappropriately poor serum erythropoietin responses, probably related to their underlying liver disease.
I do realize that and again, would it be a problem for those on short therapies, let's say the 12 or 24 weeks ones, just to use the iron supplement that I mentioned (it doesn't cause diahrrea or stomach pain) just to keep that level up so the drug makers doing the study do not insist on lowering the riba? You see what i mean? Just curious, would it hurt anything?
Great article explaining that treatment, thank you.
Here is the link to that data:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForPatientAdvocates/ucm256328.htm
"Jeepers, I don't understand all that, does anyone else? "
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Let me try to explain Can-do's data:
Treatment Outcome for Teleprvir 12 (weeks) plus Peg (Inf) and Riba
Number in study: 363
Overall SVR 79% (285/363)
Percentage of people in the study who attained: eRVR (early rapid viral response) was 58% (212/363) (eRVR is UND at week 4)
SVR rate in the 58 % of people who attained eRVR was 92%
Percentage of people in the study who did not attain eRVR: 42% (151/363)
SVR rate in in the 42 % of people who did not attain eRVR: 60% (90/151)
Outcome for Subjects without SVR
On-treatment virologic failurea 7% (26/363)
Relapseb 4% (11/298)
Otherc 11% (41/363)
Hope that helps.