An experimental drug designed to help regulate the blood’s iron supply may be a viable treatment option for inflammation-induced anemia, according to a study published in Blood.
The only current treatment strategy for this type of anemia involves targeting the underlying disease or infection.
However, recent research has sought to explore additional options for patients whose inflammation is difficult to control or when the cause of inflammation is unknown.
A hepcidin inhibitor called lexaptepid pegol (lexaptepid) has demonstrated efficacy in treating inflammation-induced anemia in animal studies. Lexaptepid inactivates hepcidin, thereby maintaining the transport of iron to the bloodstream.
To evaluate lexaptepid’s potential in humans, investigators caused inflammation-induced anemia in 24 healthy male adults and randomized them to receive lexaptepid or placebo.
Subjects received a low dose of Escherichia coli endotoxin to induce controlled inflammation and received either lexaptepid or placebo 30 minutes later.
After 9 hours, serum iron had decreased by 8.3±9.0 μmol/L in controls but increased by 15.9±9.8 μmol/L in lexaptepid-treated subjects (P<0.0001).
In addition to evaluating whether lexaptepid interfered with hepcidin production, the researchers also sought to determine whether the drug influenced the immune response.
Results suggested it did not. Treated subjects and controls alike experienced flu-like symptoms, increased body temperature and white blood cell counts, and higher concentrations of inflammatory and signaling proteins.
“It is quite encouraging that lexaptepid helped maintain appropriate levels of iron in the bloodstream of healthy volunteers without compromising the immune response,” said lead study author Lucas van Eijk, MD, of Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
“We are hopeful that, with further study, this first-of-its-kind therapy could significantly improve quality of life for patients suffering from chronic illnesses.”
Results of a phase 2 study testing lexaptepid in anemic cancer patients were presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2014.
