Serum prohepcidin in pulmonary tuberculosis.

Aim: Anemia of chronic disease is the second most encountered anemia following iron deficiency in patients who develop acute or chronic immune activation. Pulmonary tuberculosis is an infectious disease which results in an inflammatory response frequently causing anemia. We investigated whether prohepcidin can be used successfully to disclose the cause of anemia and to monitor the result of the therapy in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Material and methods: The study was performed in 40 male patients and 15 healthy controls that had a diagnosis of tuberculosis with a positive sputum smear and did not receive any previous treatment. They were treated for 6 months. Results: The study revealed a significant elevation of prohepcidin in patients with tuberculosis in comparison to those of healthy control subjects. Additionally, prohepcidin levels significantly decreased after treatment in the patient group but remained high in comparison to control group. Conclusion: We conclude that prohepcidin is high in pulmonary tuberculosis and might be a marker for monitoring the response to treatment.