Status of Hepcidin and SOD in a Sample of Jordanian β-Thalassemia Patients

Abstract

Background Aims: The study aimed to assess serum levels of hepcidin and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in patients diagnosed with β-thalassemia intermedia and major and to examine the correlation between hepcidin and SOD in those patients. Subjects and Methods: Sixty patients with β-thalassemia aged 2-25 years were recruited from the Thalassemia Unit of the Zarqa New Governmental hospital. The patients were classified into two forms of thalassemia and assessed for serum levels of hepcidin and SOD. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the differences between the patients of the two forms, compare the levels of hepcidin and SOD with the normal reference ranges, and calculate the correlation coefficients. Results: The study sample included 31 thalassemia intermedia patients and 29 patients with thalassemia major who are 33 females and 27 males. All patients had significantly deficient hepcidin (2.21±0.16 ng/ml) and increased serum SOD (3.13±0.14 ng/ml) levels compared to normal values. Ferritin was very high (3036.9±309.7 ng/ml) in all patients and highest in adult patients and those with thalassemia major. No significant correlations were found between hepcidin or SOD and ferritin (P> 0.05). Only in children patients, hepcidin was positively correlated with SOD (r= 0.848, P= 0.033). Conclusions: Jordanian β-thalassemia patients had hepcidin deficiency contributing to iron accumulation. SOD had a significant protective role against oxidation in β-thalassemia. Chelation therapy is inadequate to treat iron overload, which is still the predominant contributor to health complications in thalassemia. Therefore, the use of hepcidin agonists could be a beneficial treatment of excess iron.