Lactoferrin efficacy in treating hyperferritinemia in patients suffering from pathologies unrelated to hereditary hemochromatosis

Abstract

Ferritin (Ftn), a globular protein, sequesters 4500 atoms of iron per molecule. Elevated serum Ftn levels (hyperferritinemia) is an indicator of iron homeostasis disorders. We present the results of an observational study involving 17 patients with hyperferritinemia unrelated to hereditary hemochromatosis (HH). All participants received treatment with 200 mg of bovine lactoferrin (bLf) once ( n = 14) or twice ( n = 3) a day before meals. The patients, treated with 200 mg/day of bLf, exhibited a significant increase in red blood cells (+10%, p < 0.001), hemoglobin (+4%, p < 0.001), and hematocrit (+15%, p = 0.004), accompanied by a significant reduction in serum Ftn levels (−52%, p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) (−85.0%, p < 0.001), and D-dimers (−19%, p < 0.001). Among the three patients treated with 400 mg/day of bLf, two had effects similar to those of patients bLf-treated with 200 mg/day and one experienced a strong reduction of Ftn, CRP, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (from −97% to −75%). The decrease in serum Ftn levels due to bLf treatment was largely independent of gender ( p = 0.78), age ( p = 0.66), baseline symptoms ( p = 0.20), and concomitant acute ( p = 0.34) and chronic ( p = 0.53) infections. Although this observational pilot study yields positive effects in patients with hyperferritinemia unrelated to HH treated with bLf, a larger sample size is needed for conclusive results.