Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2018 Nov;40(1):700-709.
doi: 10.1080/0886022X.2018.1535983.

Effect of atorvastatin on iron metabolism regulation in patients with chronic kidney disease - a randomized double blind crossover study

Anna Masajtis-Zagajewska  1 , Michal Nowicki  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of atorvastatin on iron metabolism regulation in patients with chronic kidney disease - a randomized double blind crossover study

Anna Masajtis-Zagajewska et al. Ren Fail. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: To determine the effect of 6-month administration of atorvastatin on hepcidin and hemojuvelin levels, inflammatory parameters and iron metabolism in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3 and 4.

Methods: Thirty six statin- and erythropoiesis-stimulating agent-naive patients with CKD stages 3 and 4 and LDL cholesterol ≥100 mg/dl received atorvastatin or placebo for two 6-month periods in a double blind, randomized crossover study. Hepcidin, hemojuvelin, hsCRP, IL-6, hemoglobin, red blood cell distribution width, iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC) were measured before and after each treatment period.

Results: Hepcidin decreased (from 102 [307] to 63 [170] pg/ml (p > .001)) in the course of statin therapy but remained unchanged after placebo administration (173 [256] to 153 [204] pg/ml, respectively). Hemojuvelin did not change after either part of the study. Both IL-6 and hsCRP decreased following statin therapy (from 8.7 [12.0] to 8.1 [13.9] pg/ml; p = .04 and from 4.7 [4.0] to 4.0 [3.6] mg/l; p = .4, respectively), but did not change after placebo administration. Blood hemoglobin increased slightly but significantly after 6-month statin therapy (from 11.6 ± 1.6 to 11.9 ± 1.5 g/dl, p = .002), and was unchanged after placebo treatment. TIBC and UIBC increased significantly after 6-month statin therapy, and serum iron also tended to increase. The change of eGFR during the study did not differ between the two treatment periods.

Conclusions: Statin may have a small but potentially beneficial effect on serum hepcidin, which may lead to improvement of anemia control in CKD patients.

Keywords: Hepcidin; chronic kidney disease; hemojuvelin; inflammation; iron metabolism.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Study design.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Changes of UIBC, TIBC, hepcidin, hemoglobin, MCHC, and IL-6 after placebo and atorvastatin treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Besarab A, Levin A. Defining a renal anemia management period. Am J Kidney Dis. 2000;36:S13–S23. - PubMed
    1. Deicher R, Horl WH. New insights into the regulation of iron homeostasis. Eur J Clin Invest. 2006;36:301–309. - PubMed
    1. Zaritsky J, Young B, Wang HJ, et al. . Hepcidin—a potential novel biomarker for iron status in chronic kidney disease. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009;4:1051–1056. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ganz T. Hepcidin and iron regulation, 10 years later. Blood. 2011;117:4425–4433. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Swinkels DW, Wetzels JFM. Hepcidin: a new tool in the management of anaemia in patients with chronic kidney disease? Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2008;23:2450–2453. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms