الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 137 |  |  |
| | | from | 137 | | |
Abstract
Mild to moderate anemia frequently occurs in CHC patients. The etiology of anemia is complex and multifactorial. One of the causes of anemia in patients with CHC is acute or chronic blood loss into the gastrointestinal tract resulting in IDA. The hemorrhage is usually secondary to complications of portal hypertension.
Body iron balance is regulated through intestinal absorption that is modulated by hepcidin which is a negative regulator of iron homeostasis. Hepcidin inhibits duodenal iron absorption and iron release by macrophages, thereby modulating iron availability and tissue iron stores.
Reticulocytes have shorter lifespan compared with erythrocytes, making chr a better biomarker to reflect iron status in the short term.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of hepcidin and chr with iron parameters in anemic chronic HCV patients with and without bleeding and to assess the role of hepcidin in ameliorating the development of ID in anemic HCV bleeders.
This case-control study was conducted on 85 individuals, 65 of them treatment-naïve compensated CHC patients classified into: 20 non anemic patients, 23 anemic non bleeders and 22 anemic bleeders. They were compared with 20 apparently healthy individuals of comparable age and sex as a normal control group.
All individuals were subjected to: history and clinical examination, abdominal ultrasonography, CBC, liver function tests including: (ALT, AST, Albumin, Total Protein , Total Bilirubin , Direct Bilirubin , Alkaline Phosphatase , and Gamma Glutamyl Transferase), iron